The world in which we currently live has left meaning of us feeling empty, alone, and unsure of ourselves. People are more anxious than ever as we deal with rising inflation, expensive housing, increasing layoffs, and general uncertainty about the fate of our futures. When people feel as if they’ve lost control of their lives, many turn desperate, anti-social, or just plain depressed, distraught at the possibility that such control may never return. The latest film from Brandon Cronenberg explores just how far one man will go in order to break out of this mental fog.
Infinity Pool finds us alongside James and Em Foster (Alexander Skarsgård and Cleopatra Coleman), a struggling author and his well-to-do wife who vacation in at an all-inclusive beach resort in the fictional, traditionalist and hardline country of Li Tolqa to help James hopefully find inspiration to write once more. While there, James is approached by a fan of his named Gabby (Mia Goth) who introduces herself and her husband Alban (Jalil Lespert) who befriend the Fosters. During a secret day trip outside the confines of the resort where they’re permitted to be, a fatal accident occurs with James behind the wheel. The Fosters soon discover that foreigners are afforded a loophole for capital sentences involving Li Tolqa’s mastery of cloning where their double stands in to be killed instead. James is soon thereafter seduced into Gabby and Alban’s subculture of sadistic tourism.
As the audience witnesses James become slowly sucked into the cult of well off hedonists, it may be tempting to classify his actions as a man with a monstrous but dormant self having his true colors revealed once he has been exposed to the idea that they are no consequences for his actions. Indeed, this subtext is present within Infinity Pool as a commentary on the rich and the feelings of superiority and invincibility that many of them hold. And while this may be true of Gabby, Alban, and the rest of that crew, in James, his motivation for participation differs from the rest. When we first met the struggling author, he was a man who felt as if he had lost control over his life and its direction, unmotivated and a little emasculated from depending on his more wealthy wife to be the breadwinner and provider of his family, much to the chagrin of his father-in-law. After undergoing the doubling process however and witnessing the death of his clone as an out for his actions, James began to feel in control again, immune from consequence no matter his actions. As James let himself go into the maliciousness of the cult led by Gabby and Alban, he became a man who felt as if he had gained control over his life by losing control over himself. As his adventure goes on though, James must soon confront whether his personality in this escapade is the real him or a version he truly doesn’t like and wishes to rid himself of. As the film’s third act climax displays, who he is at the end of this journey is not who he began it as; instead, metaphorically born anew.
Infinity Pool is chock full of almost acid fueled imagery and cinematography, becoming more trippy and colorful the deeper James delves into the insane philosophy of the crew of rich sadists he has joined up with. Cronenberg also imbues the film with his flair for gory and graphic kills and thrills, making it evident why this film initially received an NC-17 rating from the MPA. Skarsgård and Goth do a fantastic job in bringing the weird and disturbing characters and story to life vividly and interestingly with Goth in particular continuing her horror hot streak and ascension to the Scream Queen throne. Goth is entrancing and electric as the seductive but ultimately sociopathic Gabby, nailing the switch from innocent fan to mastermind and back. Skarsgård’s depiction of James’ psychological journey from seemingly normal author to a man in crisis and confusion as to who he is at his core was the lynchpin on which this film depended and he executed the portrayal perfectly. He too has continued his streak of interesting indie roles.
Infinity Pool may be a little too out there and too graphic for many viewers, but the strong performances from Skarsgård and Goth, along with the interesting themes of the hedonistic opulence of the rich and a lost man trying to find himself and Cronenberg’s interesting cinematography, should make movie lovers that can stomach it put this inventive horror thriller near the top of their watch list.
Image: NEON
