RECOMMENDATION: A good adult thriller. Amongst others, fans of thrillers will like this film, as will those who thought Dark City, Brazil, Total Recall and/or The Matrix had too much action and not enough sex.
CRITIQUE: This is a beautifully shot film about fear, loathing and revenge, with an ending that leaves you guessing. The characters' costumes change as the characters develop, a nice yet subtle visual touch. There's a great shot in the middle of the film as we see the protagonist typing madly into her laptop; the camera drifts slowly to one side and then just as slowly back across her face to the other side, generating tension in and calling attention to the background: the door to the bedroom behind her on one side, and the sumptuous bed on the other. Interpreting the meaning of that shot is key to your understanding of the film: this is a mostly subtle story, with the end open to interpretation as to what really happened. Charlotte Rampling is excellent as the author slowly driven mad by the carnal teenager invading her privacy, and Ludivine Sagnier plays the libertine with a slight vulnerability that spares her from becoming a carnal robot. This film has tension in spades, though most of it isn't of the "oh no, when is the monster going to jump out and grab the hero?" variety. It's more a social horror/tension: when is the other shoe going to drop? When will she experience the repercussions of what she has done? When it happens, it's still a surprise.
REVIEW: The film opens with Sarah Morton, best-selling author of a long-running mystery novel series, demonstrating how neurotic she has become. She has had a crush on her London publisher for some years and is terribly covetous of his attention. She explains that she is worn out, tired of her protagonist. He suggests that she stay at his house in France for a break; she accepts and takes the train to France shortly thereafter. At first she is reserved, and then slowly relaxes into the pace of life in the French villa. As she relaxes, she begins to write. Sarah is awakened one night by the arrival of her publisher's wayward French daughter, Julie, who lives from job to job, bumming her way across Europe, occasionally returning to the house in the country for a rest.
Their personalities immediately clash; Sarah is disapproving, controlling; Julie is rebellious, licentious. They grow on each others' nerves more and more, though Sarah finds herself strangely attracted to the beautiful teenager so unlike herself. At first she spies on Julie, alone and with her many lovers, then she sneaks into her private space and starts snooping, and finally Sarah tries to befriend Julie, as the new book Sarah writes becomes more and more Julie's life story. Eventually, Julie snoops back, and discovers Sarah's appropriation of her life for her fiction. They become close with the hold each has on the other, to the point that when a local is murdered, they work together to cover it up. Finally, they part with mutual understanding, and Sarah returns to England to enact her revenge on the publisher who has slighted her for so long.
Unlike some of the films I mentioned in the recommendation (Brazil, The Matrix and Dark City), the audience at the end of this film is left without a clear decision on what really happened. In that respect it is a bit like Total Recall, though that film was never as subtle as Swimming Pool. Did she imagine it all, or only part of it? How much of what we saw really happened, and how much was in the book? We end the film not really knowing, but having clues in various directions, making it impossible to have an infallible argument in favor of one interpretation. This is potentially annoying, because it could mean that the film is nebulous, unclear, but in this case I think it is masterfully done. Without the ending, though, the film would not make a lot of sense, and it isn't until the end that you get a sort of "A-ha!" realization. I was particularly bothered by Sarah's seeming-immediate assumption that Julie had killed the waiter; it seemed out of place until the end of the film.
As an R-rated film, there is a fair amount of sex in this film, but like most French films, it is not there to titillate as much as it is to provoke a reaction from the characters: the sex is between the teenaged Julie and various older scuzzy guys she brings home to bed her, and in that sense it is also sad.
The costuming, cinematography, acting and sound are all effective. Sarah is like a coiled spring, she's wound so tight, and Julie glows with youthful vigor and indifference. The direction and writing are quite strong; it's a great film for what is primarily two characters stuck in one location - I was never bothered by the limited locales or the small cast. There are other locations, and minor supporting characters, but even without these it wouldn't have been an issue - the film-making is that strong. The French have a long history of making great films about loathing, and this is a great example, with a twist.
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