Infinity Pool

Writer James Foster and his wife are holidaying in a beautiful yet corrupt and barbaric country when they befriend another couple. On their way home from a day of picnicking James hits and kills a local farmer with the car. He is arrested and sentenced to be executed by the farmer's son. However, there is a way out of this predicament.

Reading the plot summaries of this it seemed like it was going to be a pretentious arthouse film. When I discovered that it is written and directed by Brandon Cronenberg, son of David Cronenberg, I was convinced that this would be a weird-for-weirdness-sake arthouse flick.

To my surprise, however, the film starts quite interestingly and engagingly and develops quite well. There are some artsy scenes, largely drugged out dream sequences, so we aren't spared that but for the most part the first 60-70% of the film is quite good.

The clone idea, its uses and abuses and its effect on James Foster was fascinating and I figured this would be the thrust of the remainder of the film. I was running over in my mind where the film could go from there and most of the possibilities were quite exciting.

However, instead of going down one of these paths Cronenberg chooses a lesser one, one that lives up to the expectation I had at the beginning of pretentious mindscrewery. Quite disappointing as the film seemed set up for a powerful, thrilling climax.

Premise: Not-so-successful writer seeking inspiration for his next book travels to a La Tolqa, a fictional Eastern-bloc country set on what appears to be the Black Sea. He quickly is sucked into socializing with a group of Western tourists who have discovered a quirk in the host country's legal system: Any crime you commit in the host country can be "redeemed" with a large payment to the local officials and a type of ceremony where a doppelgänger of the criminal is created and then executed in place of the "real" self.

In short, the heart of the horror is a sort of reverse-Dorian Gray where morally repugnant acts are carved-off as a separate entity and then destroyed, leaving the perpetrator to indulge in further acts of depravity.

So, what is left of the "real" self in such an arrangement? (If you have seen "Possessor," the thematic preoccupation is very similar.)

The two central characters are Skarsgard's "James" and Goth's "Gabi." From the beginning, James proves himself to be an empty vessel who is more than willing to be towed out to sea by the beguiling (and increasingly cruel) siren Gabi. Despite the presence of his wife at the resort, James abandons any loyalties he might have to her or her own concerns with what is going on. And, in contrast to newcomer-James, Gabi's social circle appears to have existed in this bizarre world of excess and violent privilege for, well, forever. Yet, they seem to effortlessly enter and exit that world at will (back to Los Angeles, of course!).

But what about James? What he becomes and where he ends up in the closing segments are far from clear. (Emptier than what he already was? A shell of a shell?).

"Infinity Pool" is a confident but cold movie. It reminds me quite a bit of the cult-group/occult horror movies that were made circa 1969-1974. The film uses quite a bit of arthouse-style flash imagery (the hues are different, but I was reminded of Norm Li's work in Panos Cosmatos' films). And despite the events taking place on a linear narrative, they are nonetheless sometimes difficult to follow due to Cronenberg's cinematic choices. In short, I can understand the polarizing reviews. I myself have mixed feelings. The film is very well done, the acting top-notch, and Cronenberg certainly attempts much more than the average horror flick director. But the "point" of the film is not always clear . . . And I felt like soaking in Dawn after viewing it. Recommended, with an asterisk.

This is a great film to get lost in, and experience the story and it's main character, Skarsgard. I do love original films, and early in the piece, it was so cool, not knowing where the film was going, but later on, in the last 40 minutes, we have moments of predicability. I found this a fun shock movie, where we have some scenes. Which are truly memorably bizarre, the final one, a scene of normality, staying in my mind the most. This is one of these films, that lingers in the memory, days after you see it. It has strobing. 180 degree turn shots, a daunting music score, cloning, and sexy Mia Goth, really playing her part to the hilt. One X rated sex shot we could of done without. Brandon Cronenberg (David's) has definitely created something originally appealing and engrossing, but it gets too ludiicrous and crazy in it's second half. Some of the bloodletting scenes, are pretty heavy. Definitely recommended, but be warned.

This film totally misses it's mark. It tries so hard to be bizarre and abstract but ends up being pretentious and annyoing. I honestly have no idea why people like this film. I could barely get through it and honestly couldn't wait for it end. I normally like Mia Goth films but this one didn't do it for me. She was super cringe in this. Especially in the scene where she's riding on the front of the car. Her screeching voice almost made my head explode. How this film has a rating above six stars is beyond me. This is definitely not a film I'd recommend or torture myself by sitting through again. 4 stars.

I saw "Infinity Pool" last night in the theatre. It is a very strange movie directed by Brandon Cronenberg, the son of David Cronenberg ("Videodrome", "The Fly", etc.) It is about a couple (Alexander Skarsgård and Cleopatra Coleman) who travel to a luxury resort in a repressive dictatorship. They meet another couple (Jalil Lespert and Mia Goth) who convince them to travel off the grounds of the resort, even though it is prohibited by the rules of the resort and country. Soon a tragedy occurs, and the couple is thrust into a fever dream of drugs, sex and violence. Mia Goth is excellent as the temptress who pushes Skarsgård's character into doing things he would never think of doing. Skarsgård is wasted in this role and his character takes actions that defy common sense. And while some have praised Brandon Cronenberg's direction - I found some of the strange angles and quirks he uses to be more annoying than ingenious. There is a surfeit of sex, violence and gore for those who enjoy that, but I cannot say that it really added anything to a convoluted plot that really makes no sense. Only recommended for Mia Goth's standout performance - wait for cable or Netflix on this one. 5/10.