"Swimming Pool", film seen first time at Cannes Film Festival 2003, sees France and Europe on most decadent, daring and inventive way. Francois Ozon writer and film director strikes again with this time British actress, Charlotte Rampling. Sarah Morton (Rampling) is a famous British mystery author. Tired of London, seeking inspiration for her new novel, she accepts an offer from her publisher John Bosload (Charles Dance) to stay at his home in middle of nowhere in France. It is early off-season, so Sarah hopes to find the beautiful country inspiring – until late one night, when John’s wild French daughter Julie (Sagnier) unexpectedly arrives. Sarah is at first, more than English-alike reserve, finding Julie reckless and sexually charged lifestyle repulsive. Their interactions set off an increasingly unsettling series of events, as Sarah’s creative process and a possible real-life murder begin to blend dangerously together. What is more welcome to a boring writer’s life than a real life event? This tight old fashion woman lives with her elderly father and fights a drinking habit, as well as the boredom seems to exist and live for the crime stories she invents. Sarah gradually starts to bond with Julie, finding her diary more than inspiring. Maybe that’s why Sarah helps little Julie to cover up a murder. But the bond is mutual, because sloppy about the men she sleep with and the dirty dishes she leaves, Julie infatuates Sarah, for her long gone mother. But everything has it’s own price, especially covered up murder. Julie is not just a reckless young lady that sleeps every night with other man. Her condition is much deeper and it is a big question when her fear of the rejection will provoke an other murder. Because she is killing man for rejecting her. And before we even realize, Sarah gets the notion to start asking questions about Julie. The moment when Sarah finds Julie "mysterious", a nasty hostile Julie’s sexuality, becomes an object of muse inspiration for Sarah’s new book. Forget the morality and justice, just as well the poor fellow buried in front of the colorful big cottage house, in the French countryside.

By the nude scenes in the film, you think that "Swimming pool" promises French, high class, sexy thriller. But as sex does come into play, you realize that film is not that sexy at all, how much sexy are the scenes of little Julie shagging different man, every night. Because having a lots of sex in film doesn’t necessary include the term "sexy". "Swimming Pool" is rated as a full female brief glimpse of nudity, with a few scenes of simulated sex, simulated drug use (marijuana), strong sex-related profanity and a brief scene of violence. This is not the film for teenagers. It is an adult film. By Oson’s previous experience, we see that this director paint so well the mentality and character of French people. French film lovers all remember "8 women". With this film, François Ozon returns to the haunting mystery of his previous "Under the Sand". For him, folding out the story is a careful and thoroughly procedure. French cinematography is a strange one. When we talk about European cinematography, we always think primal on French. When we talk about sexy movies, we don’t think about big Hollywood industry, we are talking about small, sometimes-low budget cinematography, a French cinematography. Why is that? To get answer on that question, I think that is essential to see this film. And I can tell you this, it is not the sex scenes & nudity that make film sexy, but the atmosphere. The atmosphere made with the perfect measure of sex & mystery & environment & actors & simplicity of character acting. Certainly, the well-directed theme of a writer, suspecting a story, becoming a cliché. Yet Ozon takes careful insight of the very process of story making, brilliantly combining the imagined and the 'real' so that surface of the swimming pool and film stayed untouched. That’s why no other title for this movie is more appropriate than this.