Swimming Pool

"On the surface, all is calm."

2003 1h 42m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 821

CrimeThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A British crime novelist travels to her publisher's upmarket summer house in Southern France to seek solitude in order to work on her next book. However, the unexpected arrival of the publisher's daughter induces complications and a subsequent crime.

“On the surface, all is calm.”

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Cast

Charlotte Rampling
Sarah Morton
Ludivine Sagnier
Julie
Charles Dance
John Bosload
Marc Fayolle
Marcel
Jean-Marie Lamour
Franck
Mireille Mossé
Marcel's Daughter
Michel Fau
First Man
Jean-Claude Lecas
Second Man

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: François Ozon
Writers: François Ozon, Emmanuèle Bernheim
Languages: English, French
Countries: France, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 23 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: France, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by François Ozon, shot by Yorick Le Saux. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Philippe Rombi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Monica Coleman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Charlotte Rampling and Ludivine Sagnier and Charles Dance carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "On the surface, all is calm.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

François Ozon directs. Yorick Le Saux behind the camera. Philippe Rombi scores. Monica Coleman cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in France, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 23 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, French.
3International production across 2 countries: France, United Kingdom.
4Directed by François Ozon, shot by Yorick Le Saux. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Philippe Rombi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Monica Coleman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Charlotte Rampling and Ludivine Sagnier and Charles Dance carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "On the surface, all is calm.".
9IMDB entry: tt0324133 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 22 themes, including "dying and death", "daughter", "london, england", "countryside".
11Released under 14 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Yorick Le Saux
Original score: Philippe Rombi
Editing: Monica Coleman
Costume design: Pascaline Chavanne
Makeup / hair: Myriam Roger
Runtime: 102 min · 1h 42m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $7,800,000
Box office: $22,441,323
Return: 288% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Swimming Pool (2003)

Awards

European Film Award for Best Actress

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

François Ozon

Stills · wallpapers

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2021-12-13
★ 9/10
Engaging psychological drama with Ludivine Sagnier and Charlotte Rampling "Swimming Pool" (2003) is a drama/psychological thriller about a popular English novelist named, Sarah (Charlotte Rampling), who vacations at her publisher's villa in France to find inspiration for her next book. Unfortunately, the publisher's oversexed daughter, Julie (Ludivine Sagnier), visits and disrupts her activities. If you remember 70s' films like "Orca" and "Zardoz" you'll know that Rampling was stunning in her physical prime in a looks-that-kill way. In "Swimming Pool" she's still in decent shape for a woman verging on 60, but her character's a joyless biyatch desperately seeking inspiration. Julie, by contrast, is young, friendly and overflowing with sexuality, but – like Sarah – she's not a pushover in the least. Sagnier shines as the wild child French hottie. There's just something about the female French accent that's a turn-on. Despite her sexiness, it's clear in some scenes that Julie's actually sort of plain in a girl-next-door kind of way. It's what she does with what she's got that makes her stunning. Like 2005's "Match Point," "Swimming Pool" is the antithesis of the modern 'blockbuster' and all its moronic trappings -- there's no quick editing, no CGI, no goofy one-liners, no explosions and no promise of $400 million at the box office. No, "Swimming Pool" is movie-making based simply on excellent writing and cinematic storytelling. The end is a revelation to the viewer even if you were expecting it, particularly because, if you research it, it's way more than even that, believe it or not. It's amazing how good writing & storytelling can create a 'Wow' reaction more so than the most elaborate overkill action sequence with all its requisite CGI and explosions. The film runs 102 minutes and was shot in Luberon, Vaucluse, France, and London. GRADE: A- SPOILER ALERT (Don't read further if you haven't seen the film) The obvious interpretation is that Julie isn't real, but rather a character created by Sarah for her next book whereas Julia is the publisher's real daughter, revealed at the end. People who draw this conclusion, like me on my first two viewings, are on the right track, but this interpretation is only accurate to a point. For details see the thread on the MovieChat message board "The Definitive Answer / Color-Key to Swimming Pool."

Production companies