A REFRESHING DIVE INTO SEXUAL INTRIGUE.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic

IN THE EARLY moments of Francois Ozon's beautifully filmed bauble, ``Swimming Pool,'' British mystery writer Sarah Morton (Charlotte Rampling) is recognized by a respectful fan while riding the train home. The woman tells Sarah how much she loves her series of whodunits. Sarah coldly regards the admirer and replies, ``I am not the person you think I am.''

After making a left turn into musical camp last year with ``8 Women,'' the prolific Ozon has returned to probing the gray areas between fantasy and reality, a subject he explored most memorably with Rampling in ``Under the Sand.'' Ozon's new movie doesn't have the depth of ``Sand,'' but it works well enough as a stylish bit of titillation as well as a showcase for its two marvelous actresses.

The reality of Sarah is that she is a best-selling author who has hit a creative wall. The severe Sarah is part of a long tradition of English women writers - Agatha Christie and Ruth Rendell among them - who excel at describing gruesome crimes and hideous people, a talent that, more often than not, masks some pretty weird personal predilections. Ozon hints at this with Sarah: we see evidence of a drinking problem and talk of less-than-ideal sexual dalliances.

At the behest of her publisher/lover (Charles Dance), Sarah goes to the South of France to recharge her batteries. The change in scenery does her some good. But just as Sarah begins to find her way out of her creative funk, in walks the publisher's daughter, Julie (Ludivine Sagnier), a sexually aggressive hottie in town to relax and, apparently, bed every able man in a 10-kilometer radius.

The dynamic between the two mismatched women is pretty routine at first, although the actresses delight in playing up the odd-couple tensions. Then, almost as predictably, the roommates form an uneasy alliance as Sarah begins to see Julie's life as a story that's infinitely more interesting than the book she's writing. The rapacious delight in Rampling's eyes as she consumes Julie's wild tales - and, by extension, her life - is one of the great movie moments this year.

The ending is a head-scratcher that can be freely explained, but less easily appreciated. Ozon is trying to say something about the nature of the creative process, but I doubt that anyone will come away from ``Swimming Pool'' feeling enlightened. They'll remember ageless Rampling and the topless Sagnier and the rest will feel like the sun reflecting off the surface of water - iridescent, but impossible to grasp.

SWIMMING POOL - Three stars

(R: strong sexual content, nudity, language, some violence and drug use)

Starring: Charlotte Rampling, Ludivine Sagnier.

Director: Francois Ozon.

Running time: 1 hr. 42 min.

Playing: Laemmle's Sunset 5 in West Hollywood and Landmark's Regent Theater in Westwood.

In a nutshell: Severe English author and naked French hottie match wits in this beautifully filmed bauble.

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Charlotte Rampling plays a mystery writer sent on vacation by her publisher (Charles Dance) to a villa where she encounters a hedonistic young woman in ``Swimming Pool.''