Movie Review: La Piscine, (The Swimming Pool) starring Alain Delon and Romy Schneider, directed by Jacques Deray (1969)

 

Cover of the Criterion Collection 2021 Blu-Ray of La Piscine

Romy Schneider and Alain Delon make an attractive couple.

Alain Delon as Jean-Paul, Maurice Ronet as Harry. Both actors give impressive performances.

Jane Birkin as Penelope.

A tense dinner between the four main characters of La Piscine.

Movies always make swimming pools seem more magical than they are in real life. In the movies, pools never need cleaning, and they don’t get full of leaves and debris. The French film La Piscine, from 1969, released in the US as The Swimming Pool the following year, makes an attractive argument in favor of pools. Much of the attractiveness is thanks to the two leading actors, Alain Delon and Romy Schneider. Delon, regarded by many cinema aficionados as one of the most handsome men ever to grace the silver screen, had thick, black hair, piercing blue eyes, high cheekbones, and a terrific sense of sartorial style. Schneider had gorgeous blue eyes, high cheekbones, and a figure that is very well accentuated by the swimsuits that Andre Courreges designed for the film.

Delon and Schneider were a couple in the early 1960’s, and were even engaged for a while, but never married. By the time La Piscine was filmed, they were both married to other people. Delon and Schneider have incredible chemistry together, which adds greatly to the sensuality of the film.

Delon and Schneider play Jean-Paul and Marianne, a couple on vacation on the French Riviera. They’ve rented a gorgeous house with an amazing swimming pool. Then their friend Harry (Maurice Ronet) and his daughter Penelope (Jane Birkin) stop by to stay for a few days. And complications ensue. To say more would be superfluous. La Piscine unspools slowly, much like a long day at the beach. (Don’t read the Google plot summary, which gives away far too much of the plot.)

All four actors give excellent performances, and they’re fascinating to watch. Ronet gives Harry the necessary charm, and it’s easy to understand why people would be drawn to him. Delon gives a moody, naturalistic performance. Schneider is fantastic—like Delon, she gives the role a naturalistic feel. Birkin looks gorgeous and stylish, and casting her was an excellent choice. Birkin’s first language is English, so having her speak French adds a layer of slight discomfort that fits Penelope very well.

The Criterion Collection Blu-Ray of La Piscine features a gorgeous transfer of the film, and it adds some fascinating extras as well. There’s a short documentary from 2019 made by Agnes Vincent-Deray, widow of the director Jacques Deray. It’s touching to watch Delon speak about his love and respect for Romy Schneider. It was Delon who fought for Schneider to be cast, telling Deray and the producers, “Use Romy or it won’t work.” Delon was right. To see the connection and chemistry between Delon and Schneider, all you have to do is watch the brief archive footage of Delon greeting Schneider at the Nice airport in 1968, just before filming began. Delon is the very picture of the suave European movie star, all smiles as he embraces Romy as she walks down the stairs onto the tarmac.

One of the most fascinating extras is the English-language version of La Piscine, filmed at the same time with the same cast. It’s a bit crazy to think of Deray yelling “cut!” during a sexy scene of Delon and Schneider making out together and then filming it again in English.

La Piscine was a huge hit in France when it was released in early 1969, and it was the first of 9 films that Delon and Deray made together. La Piscine has slowly gained a cult following in the United States over the years, and the film has made headlines this year as it’s run at the Film Forum in New York City, originally supposed to be 2 weeks, was extended by popular demand to 18 weeks. Perhaps the languid summer of 2021 is the perfect time for the languid rhythms of La Piscine.