Swimming Pool

Swimming Pool has quietly become one of the more dependable crime dramas currently available in Australia on MUBI, and in the UK on MUBI and BFI Player Amazon Channel. It says what it needs to say in one sitting, no filler. With 798 viewer ratings on TMDB, this is not a title flying under the radar. Charlotte Rampling's performance alone is worth the time investment. Put it on tonight on MUBI and see for yourself.

Part of the current wave of titles people are actually watching, Swimming Pool earns its spot. The plotting gives Swimming Pool its backbone, but it is the characters you come back for. 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. Credit to Charlotte Rampling and Ludivine Sagnier for grounding it — this is a cast that earns the twists. It was released in 2003. Swimming Pool is at its best in the quiet scenes between the plot beats, where the character work actually happens. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

For anyone who wants their crime drama to earn its twists, Swimming Pool delivers. It does not lean on comparisons to make its case. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Charlotte Rampling anchors it, but the writing does the real work. If you are going to commit to one crime drama this month, make it this one.