la piscine (jacques deray, 1969)

Seemed like I should watch an Alain Delon movie as a tribute to the actor, who died yesterday. During my extended stay in the bedroom, recovering from my broken ankle, I watched a lot of movies I'd seen before, and I wanted to avoid that as I moved upstairs to watch the big screen TV for the first time in months. I've seen some of his films ... loved The Leopard, Le Samourai is also excellent, not to mention Purple Noon and Le Cercle Rouge. I decided on La Piscine (in English, The Swimming Pool).

Besides his other qualities, Alain Delon brings eye candy to the screen. And he is joined by some pretty sweet co-stars: Romy Schneider had been partners with Delon for several years, although they had separated, Maurice Ronet wasn't exactly shabby, and there was Jane Birkin to round things out. La Piscine is smoldering from the start ... Delon and Schneider still had great screen chemistry. The appearance of the other two stars setup a steamy who-will-and-with-whom plot. Jacques Deray, though, lets the chemistry of his actors do all the heavy lifting, so the film is actually a bit boring as it meanders its way to a thriller ending.

Ultimately, I don't think La Piscine makes any large statements ... not sure that was intended, to be honest. None of the characters is particularly likable or the opposite, they are just well-off and better-looking people than the rest of us.