Bijou Phillips Movie:

Editorial Review:
In terms of alluring female nudity, Swimming Pool shows a lot, but it's what remains concealed that gives this erotic thriller a potent, voyeuristic charge. With his Hitchcockian handling of secrets and lies, prolific French director François Ozon reunites with his Under the Sand star, Charlotte Rampling, to tell a seductive tale of murder and complicity, beginning when British mystery novelist Sarah Morton (Rampling) seeks peace and relaxation at her publisher's French villa, only to find his brash, sexually liberated daughter Julie (Ludivine Sagnier) arriving shortly thereafter to disrupt her solitary reverie. What begins as mutual annoyance turns into something more sinister and duplicitous, alternating between Julie's predatory sex with men and Sarah's observant, perhaps jealous fascination. These two women, generations apart, share in Ozon's delicate dance of trust, curiosity, and gradual understanding, until a twist ending that forces you to reevaluate everything you've seen. Only then will the mysteries of Swimming Pool be fully and tantalizingly revealed. (Note: The unrated version contains full-frontal nudity that's been edited from the rated version. In both versions, the overall plot is not affected.) --Jeff Shannon

The Door in the Floor/Swimming Pool Value Pack Reviews:
Excellent
2009-10-09 - I saw very little difference between this version of the film and the previous, rated, version I had.

PRETENTIOUS NONSENSE--DREADFULLY SLOW
2009-06-23 - Okay...yes, the movie is puzzling and maybe if you sit and think about it long enough, the gears will mesh and things might make sense...but so what? who cares? The movie took forever to get started, and you can tell the director took himself way too seriously...I love French films, in fact one of my favorites is Chabrol's This Man Must Die--but Swimming Pool has virtually no dramatic tension, with too many scenes that just take too long to make the point..as for the great puzzle, go watch Fear X with John Turturro--easily the best "not sure what happened but it was great" films...

Swimming Pool
2009-02-24 - Taking nothing away from the performers, a "thrilling" film it is not. Perhaps I was expecting too much but the final scenes left me nowhere wondering, at the fade out... and? Plausability left too much to be desired.The only reason I see for this film to be made is that actors make money when they are acting, as well they should but not to waste their talents in such a manner.

Good direction and acting overcomes a plotless film!
2009-01-22 - The film somehow didn't dissapoint me, it had all the good ingredients of a good drama, good direction, haunting background score, neat performences and good chemistry, but hey the questian is, where is the plot? well if the film followed a strong plot, the film would be appreciated far more better. In other words, good performences by everyone, Charlotte Rampling was terrefic. A neat drama film, but could have been better. Somehow, still worth watching. My score - 4.0 / 5

A 'Swimming Pool' With a Psychological Deep End.
2008-11-18 - François Ozon's 2003 erotic psychological- thriller, Swimming Pool, stars Charlotte Rampling and Ludivine Sagnier. It tells the story of a best-selling British mystery writer, Sarah Morton (Rampling) who, suffering from writer's block, decides to take a break from London by vacationing at her publisher, John Bosload's (Charles Dance), country house near Lacoste, France. Soon after her arrival, she is distracted from her rigid writing routine by a free-spirited young woman claiming to be the publisher's daughter, Julie (Sagnier). Julie's promiscuous nightlife involves noisy one-night stands with various men. This sparks a competition between the two women involving a local waiter, Franck (Jean-Marie Lamour). After Franck disappears, Julie has a breakdown, and the relationship between the two women quickly changes. When Sarah returns to England with her new novel, she is haunted by flashbacks of Julia, which leave the viewer haunted as well with questions of what was real and imaginary in the film. (The DVD relese includes several deleted scenes which only add to the ambiguity of the film.) Charlotte Rampling and Ludivine Sagnier bring outstanding performances to the compelling film. Recommended.

G. Merritt