"Swimming Pool" not completely shallow

As a film, "Swimming Pool" is somewhat as its title suggests: there's a surface to it, and beneath that surface there is so much more going on. The problem is the water gets a little murky.\nSarah Morton (Charlotte Rampling) is a crime novelist lost for inspiration. At the suggestion of her publisher, John (Charles Dance), she escapes to his house in France to relax and concentrate on her next book. Things are perfect until John's sexually voracious distraction of a daughter, Julie (Ludivine Sagnier), shows up. Their lives clash until Julie kills a man she brings home and Sarah helps her cover it up. Despite sounding simultaneously interesting and stupid, the end product is reasonably intriguing.\nThe first act is unconventional, yet mesmerizing. There is almost no dialogue or music. The camera simply, yet eloquently watches Sarah settle into the house. Her routine is laid before the audience, and while it may appear boring there is very quick character development through subtleties. The third act, where they hide the body, is also very well executed. At the ending there is a moment that makes the audience question everything that has happened. While causing some serious plot holes, it forces thought and is a wonderful note to end on. \nThe majority of problems (and development, consequently) lie in the second act, once Julie arrives. Sarah and Julie are polar opposites, with Julie's lifestyle distracting not only Sarah, but also the narrative. The movie gets almost too voyeuristic with Sagnier, as she spends a lot of the film nude. The lack of moderation really detracts from what's going on -- it's tough to take a naked person seriously. This act drags, as the cycle of Sarah's reactions to Julie's frequent random sexual encounters repeat persistently. \nThe development between the two women as they learn to adapt to one another is quite good. Sarah becomes obsessed with Julie and resorts to spying on her, reading her diary -- anything in order to gain inspiration for her book. It's apparent that Julie is being personified in Sarah's fiction. This notion becomes even more extravagant in the ending. In this regard, the movie is very self-reflexive, with every moment existing for both book and film in a dual-conscience narrative. \n"Swimming Pool" is a very unique movie -- provocative, complicated and at once flawed. With strong performances from Rampling and Sagnier, apt direction from Francois Ozon and often poignant camerawork, it's definitely worth the time it takes to mull over what it was you just watched.