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Swimming Pool Review

Other Critics provided by Metacritic.com

Critics scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 4.0
    70

    out of 100

    Metascore®
    Generally favorable reviews
    based on a weighted average of all
    critic review scores.

  • 75

    out of 100

    USA Today Mike Clark

    With a little sex, some mystery, a little sex, an appealing title and a little sex, France's Swimming Pool has what it takes to become an art house audience magnet, especially amid the heat of summer.

    Read Full Review

  • 75

    out of 100

    Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

    After it is over, you will want to go back and think things through again, and I can help you by suggesting there is one, and only one, interpretation that resolves all of the difficulties, but if I told you, you would have to kill me.

    Read Full Review

  • 80

    out of 100

    Los Angeles Times Manohla Dargis

    Ozon misses some chances with Sarah, but Rampling doesn't skip a beat. Freed from the burden of likability, the actress pushes the character from near-farce to near-tragedy, without once appealing to sentimentalism.

    Read Full Review

  • 80

    out of 100

    The New York Times Dana Stevens

    Simultaneously a thoroughly mannered, mischievously artificial confection and an acute piece of psychological realism. Whose psychology, and which reality, remains ambiguous even after the tart, delicious final twist.

    Read Full Review

  • 80

    out of 100

    Variety David Rooney

    Working predominantly in English for the first time, the French director has crafted an absorbing tale about the merging of fiction with reality, propelled by contrasting performances from Charlotte Rampling and Ludivine Sagnier.

    Read Full Review

  • 80

    out of 100

    The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen

    Ultimately, Swimming Pool belongs to Ozon, and while incorporating a carefully measured, quietly menacing style that summons up vintage Hitchcock and Chabrol, he has made it unmistakably -- and entertainingly -- his very own.

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  • 83

    out of 100

    Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

    The narrative logic of Swimming Pool slips through our hands like cool water, shimmery and light-dappled, leaving behind the pleasures of summer heat and goose bumps.

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  • 90

    out of 100

    Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

    Charlotte Rampling is the best reason, though far from the only one, to see Swimming Pool, a mesmerizing mystery, plus a wonderfully sensuous fantasy.

  • See all Swimming Pool reviews at Metacritic.com

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For Families provided by Common Sense Media

not for kids

Confusing thriller is absolutely NOT for kids.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this film contains a lot of nudity, several scenes of explicit sexuality, some strong language and some (mostly offscreen) violence. It is not appropriate for anyone under 17. This isn't really family fare -- it's very sexual, dark, and confusing.

  • Families can talk about whether they think Sarah imagining what's going on, or if she's creating it for her novel. There is plenty to discuss, but this is probably not the kind of film most parents would feel comfortable watching with their children.

The good stuff
  • message true0

    Messages: Some not very good role models.

What to watch for
  • violence false3

    Violence: There is a murder, but it is not explicitly shown.

  • sex false5

    Sex: A lot of nudity, several scenes of explicit sexuality.

  • language false5

    Language: Very strong language.

  • consumerism false0

    Consumerism: Not an issue

  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3

    Drinking, drugs and smoking: Not an issue

An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology.

© Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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Fan Reviews provided by

Average Rating: 3.116
Read all reviews Write a review at Fandango
5

Swimming Pool by janlallen
A whodunit or whodunnit (for "Who done [did] it?") it is a complex, plot-driven variety of detective story in which the puzzle is the main feature of interest. A detective story-teller Sarah Morton (Charlotte Rampling) needs 'a quiet vacation.. He publisher John Bosload (Charles Dance) offers her his home. In Southern France peaceful surroundings upscale summer house. "Her hopes for a carefree idyll are shattered, however, when John's shiftless and brazenly promiscuous daughter (Ludivine Sagnier) arrives and sweep Sarah into her reckless world.?

Read all Swimming Pool reviews at Fandango
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