La Piscine

A fantastic study in power struggles, jealousy, the fine line between pride and disaster, and finally, vulnerability and loyalties.

My third Delon film. They are consistently good.

In a sense, operatically blunt and bare-bones, unlike, say, the complex psychological thrillers you see from Chabrol in those years. The dialogue, however, is consistently smart and the cast lands it beautifully. Marianne (Schneider) is one of the most compelling female characters I've seen in the genre. Throughout the film she consistently makes measured, calculated choices even when she's seething or heartbroken, and it's thoroughly believable - the very last scene is her only emotional call.

There's slow burns, and then there's those times you have to keep checking to make sure the heat is even on. This film leaves almost everything unsaid, which could increase the tension if you're paying attention. But for those whose minds wander because the characters don't start off all that interesting, it makes for a very long movie. [Why the funeral at the vacation spot? Why not at the guy's original home?]

This is very slow, but the patient viewer will be rewarded with a subtle and complex thriller with complicated characters with very realistic feeling emotions and motives. For the first hour plus, almost all of the relevant action is unspoken, told in glances or expressions. Someone not paying attention might think nothing is happening, but indeed there is plenty going on. An interesting and well acted examination of jealousies, insecurities, and their impact.

Not enough going on thematically or plotwise

One of the riskiest things you can do as a filmmaker is make a movie about bored rich people. There are some interesting themes at play here and from a visual perspective, it makes the best out of its single shooting location, but everything is ultimately wasted on characters I couldn’t give a damn about.

Silly and fun sultry thriller.

Maybe I wasn't in the right mood for it, but it felt like one of the most boring movies I've seen, that is, boring but not necessarily bad, since I still finished it.

Plein Soleil feelings.

Uma espécie de reedição de "Plein Soleil", com o bônus da presença assídua de Romy Schneider. O diferencial é o apego a uma única locação, que todavia não prejudica a manutenção do interesse no desenrolar da história.

Its sexual politics is somewhat dated, but this sultry thriller is a lot of fun.