To write something, one must be inspired. Just as in the movie “Swimming Pool”, a crime novelist, Sarah played by Charlotte Rampling, needed to continue her book series but she couldn’t for she lacked inspiration. Her publisher, John, whom I assumed she fancies, allowed Sarah to use his villa for her to continue writing her book. Sarah was having a peaceful time writing her book until someone arrived. It was the unexpected arrival of her publisher’s ill-disciplined daughter Julie, played by Ludivine Sagnier. Things didn’t go according to plan for the peacefulness of the building was always disrupted with Julie’s bring-home-guy every night. As time passed by, Sarah grew interest in writing a story about Julie instead which led the two to become friends. Unfortunately, Julie found what Sarah was writing and got disappointed but she never confronted Sarah about it. Julie then brings home a waiter who Sarah most often meets, and also I assume she fancies. All went well until the waiter refuses to have sex with Julie, the cause which led Julie killing him. Sarah discovers what happened and helps in burying the body and cleaning evidences which she’d know for she writes stories about it. Julie decides to go leaving a book which her mother wrote. She shows it to her publisher who thought it was bad but she had the courage to have a different publisher. What gave me a shock was at the end of the story where the real Julie arrives at the office.
Julie is simply the woman that Sarah longs to be: an emotionally and sexually free woman. Therefore, Julie is actually unreal. Julie is the representation of Sarah as to who she was to be. This would clearly be noticed by the age of the men being brought home. Julie is Sarah. The real Julie has no connection with the fake Julie though. The formation of such persona of Julie may have been from the resentment she had for John for only seeing her as an object and not as a woman, a sexually hungry one.
We somehow show our true selves when no one’s watching. Just as Sarah, she wants to be herself with no one watching, but of course, there will always be someone. That someone is God which is the reason why she removes the crucifix from the wall. Another motif would be the scars on Julie’s stomach. We were always taught that “bad girls” do things like committing adultery, abortion, masturbation, or using vices. This then gives us an implication that Julie must have had committed abortion or adultery which goes to show that she is a “bad girl”. The part when Sarah and Julie had a row goes to show that Sarah is having a battle with herself; her modest and liberated self. The time Sarah and Julie got along means that she made peace with herself. The killing of Franck did not happen in reality, it simply showed that her journey is about to end. The burying of the dead body symbolizes the burial of who she was before. She had let go of her past, insecure, and confined life. When Marcel noticed the change in the lawn and was thinking of digging the “old Sarah”, Sarah showed her breast, a sign of the new her. She doesn’t want to be her old self. The book that Julie gave her, written by Julie’s mother, shows the result of the new book she had made and the new book of her life. The waving at the end of the movie showed that Sarah no longer needs Julie anymore. The swimming pool was the overall symbolism of Sarah herself. As the pool’s cover was being pulled out, the change in her was also happening. Therefore, it symbolizes Sarah’s change from being covered into being liberated. Notice how she dressed at the first few scenes and in the last. She was like an old angry woman in the beginning and was more feminine and happy woman in the end.
The movie was obviously character driven; all revolved around Sarah. Charlotte Rampling had a portrayed her role excellently as well as Ludivine Sagnier. The setting was appropriate for the movie. A mixture of thrill and emotion were bursting in the film. The sex scenes were also appropriate for without it the movie would really be dull. Overall, the movie was done so well as it effectively made people think.
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