Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Keeley Coleman The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

blanche-2 And what eye candy - Alain Delon. "La Piscine" is about two impossibly beautiful people in various stages of undress having a lot of foreplay. Or so it seems. Jean- Paul (Delon) and his lover (or wife, not sure) Marianne (Romy Schneider) are vacationing in a friend's mansion in Saint-Tropez. Lots of sun, making out, and swimming.Marianne's ex-beau, Harry (Maurice Ronet) calls to say he's in the area, and Marianne invites him and his nubile daughter Penelope (Jane Birkin) to stay with him. It's obvious that Harry still desires Marianne, so there is automatic tension. Then Jean-Paul seduces Penelope. Soon tension leads to something worse."La Piscine" is a typical foreign film - the ideas are sometimes obtuse, and it moves slowly. It's also too long by as much as a half hour. It's hard to concentrate on the plot because the beauty of the stars, Delon and Schneider, and their incredible chemistry overwhelm the story - to the extent that one doesn't really understand Jean- Paul's attraction to Penelope.What erupts is the suppressed anger of the once-suicidal Jean-Paul, the competitiveness between him and Harry, and Harry's jealous possession of his daughter, whom he only recently met. As Penelope says, he likes to have her travel with him because people often think she's his mistress.Schneider and Delon were a famous real-life couple but had broken up about five years earlier. Their chemistry is undeniable, and it's heartbreaking to think about what happened to her. Both actors give very "movie" performances - nothing overplayed, many subtle, nonverbal reactions. All of the acting is good, and the conflict scene between Harry and Jean-Paul is excellent."La Piscine" is considered a classic, but I believe many Americans had a hard time with it due to its languid pace and a tendency to look for action rather than psychology. Enjoy it for the beautiful photography and beautiful actors, if nothing else.

morrison-dylan-fan Talking to my dad about planning to watch one French film a day over the next few months,I was happily caught by surprise,when he revealed that he had picked one up for me.Recently catching a glimpse of her in the superb Purple Noon,I decided that it was the perfect time to pay Romy Schneider a visit at her villa.The plot:Deciding to go on holiday,lovers Jean-Paul and Marianne choose to spend their time at a villa.Diving into the swimming pool,the couple pass the time by with sun bathing and swimming.Letting each other's guard down,Jean-Paul is taken aback,when Marianne's invites her old lover Harry and his teenage daughter to the villa.Seeing Harry reveal his wooing charms,Jean-Paul begins to think about taking drastic measures in order to save his relationship.View on the film:Backed by a sizzling score from Michel Legrand,co-writer/(along with Jean-Claude Carrière and Alain Page) director Jacques Deray & cinematographer Jean-Jacques Tarbès swagger round the villa like dapper dressed lounge lizards,where every corner of the villa is presented in an immaculate manner,that colour coordinate everything from the clothes to the wall paper. Plunging Jean-Paul and Marianne's relationship under the water,Deray splashes the outdoor of the villa with vibrant yellows which subtly keeps the disintegration crumbling away behind closed doors.Hanging round the pool with everyone,the screenplay by Deray/Page and Carrière gives the domestic Drama a playfully dark comedic chop,lit up by Jean-Paul trying to get a grip on why Harry and his daughter have been invited.Hitting the movie with a dark twist,the writers block the ending from landing at full force,by presenting all 4 characters in a detached manner which stops any menacing atmosphere being fanned across the title.Stepping out of the swimming pool looking ravishingly beautiful, Romy Schneider (who beat first choice Angie Dickinson) gives a very good performance as Marianne,via Schneider delicately crossing a free- spirit nature with a brittleness over the relationship falling from her hands. Joining his real life ex-girlfriend, Alain Delon gives a great performance as Jean-Paul,thanks to Delon injecting Jean-Paul with a heartfelt fragility,as Jean-Paul sees his hopes and loves fall to the bottom of the pool.

Milan This fine French crime drama, is not appreciated as it should be. The cast may be the reason, but there is no one, that comes to mind of contemporary French actors, at the time, that could have added something more to this. The centerpiece of this tale, of moral and emotional decadence is the swimming pool by beautiful villa, somewhere near Saint-Tropez and it radiates summer passion, it's turquoise waters filled with guilty conscience, calling for trouble between three old friends and lovers. Burden each of them carries, would lead to crime even without "sweet Jane" stirring it up to boiling point. Her presence is so light and she almost appears as a mirage, in between scenes of old passions, lust and grudges not forgotten.The film is everything but slow paced and boring. There is no surplus scene, and I can't imagine how it could be done differently. Of course such films in general are not for audiences of ready-made movies, but for those who will savor Jacques Deray's fine direction, and beautiful cinematography of Jean-Jacques Tarbès. They did a fine job in submerging a willing viewer into exquisite beauty of Romy Schneider, Alen Delon's cool in portrayal of insecure, troubled man that finds his life utterly pointless, Maurice Ronet's subtle acting performance of a successful composer who is afraid of his success, and Jane Birkin's girlish naiveté, ruffle the pool of love and hate. Interraction between Schneider, Delon and Ronet adds another level to it, and the story glides well with every scene serving the story of superficial, emotionless people trapped in their small worlds, in witch they are suffocating. Beautiful film, worth every minute of your time, and not just in cold winter months.

JasparLamarCrabb Jacques Deray's psychological drama stops short of being a real thriller by keeping the pace maddeningly slow. Alain Delon and Romy Schneider are well paired as an upper class couple enjoying an idyllic vacation on in the south of France. Their holiday in the sun is interrupted by old friend Maurice Ronet and his young, very odd daughter. Ronet and Delon are old pals and Ronet and Schneider MAY be old lovers...Delon goes slowly mad trying to find out. Complicating things is Jane Birkin as Ronet's bored daughter. What seems like a straightforward triangle blooms into something hellish. LA PISCINE (The Pool) is strikingly photographed, and the principles are all at their peak, however the overall viewing experience is not exactly enjoyable...Deray (a very good director) really mis-steps. The buildup is just too long for the finale to be very satisfying. Still, he gets terrific performances out of the swinging cast and the movie includes one of Michel Legrand's more bearable music scores.