Extremely straight or very gay? For me, this has always been a burning question with regard to director Francois Ozon. His latest film is a murder-mystery called "Swimming Pool," in which the male gaze is quelled and replaced by the female, but their visions remain trained on the same stunning 19-year-old woman, who lounges by a swimming pool in an array of skimpy bikinis. The gaze travels up and down her figure, charged with fascination, envy and lust (emphasis on the lust).
In one scene, Ozon's camera lingers for what seems like an eternity on the rise and fall of the girl's voluptuous chest as she sleeps, then cuts briefly to the seemingly impassive face of the middle-aged woman as she watches her. There is no soundtrack here though I thought I heard a soft swallowing, a furtive gulp of desire and resentment. Whether this emanated from the woman or someone in the audience remains a mystery.
Ozon has always professed his obsession with female sexuality, and his recent works like "8 Women" and "Under the Sand" are showcases for his amazing intuitive powers on this very subject. He gets right under the skin of his female characters and goads them into intimacy with his camera -- and under his direction, actresses like Fanny Ardant and Catherine Deneuve seem perversely subservient, as if enjoying the process of being bullied and plied by this man who seems to know everything. (What a rival Ozon would have made for Freud.)
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