Infinity Pool Review

Infinity Pool review.

Beneath the layers of shocking moments and imagery lies the story of a man struggling to discover who he is. Infinity Pool dresses it in an appropriately horrific coating…but never loses sight that the story is its greatest strength.

New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.

Infinity Pool

Directed by Brandon Cronenberg

Written by Brandon Cronenberg

Starring Alexander Skarsgård, Mia Goth and Cleopatra Coleman

Infinity Pool Review

Infinity Pool begins as the story of a man, full of fears and doubts about his value and place in the world, questioning who he is.  Despite a journey of violence, warped justice, birth (or rebirth) and death…the story never actually changes.  The true horror of Infinity Pool is that journeys don’t always lead to a destination. 

James (Alexander Skarsgård) and Em (Cleopatara Coleman) are on vacation at a gorgeous island resort.  Their lives are thrown into chaos when they leave the resort grounds and get into an accident.  James faces an identity crisis as he gets sucked deeper into a world of violence, vengeance and a unique lack of repercussions.

The headlines on Infinity Pool mention visceral violence, hedonism and excess.  While all of that is certainly a part of the film experience…it resides on the shallow end of this pool.  You can have a great time there.  Mia Goth gives another wonderfully unhinged performance in the film’s second half when the characters fully embrace the wild uninhibited lifestyle the marketing promises.  But there is also a deep end. 

The deep end of Infinity Pool is the examination of what all of this violence…this freedom from rules and inhibitions…actually means.  Do no rules mean no morals?  Is it simply vacation entertainment for the wealthy class?  Is it ultimately meaningless?  Can you be confronted with all your desires and fears and still learn nothing about yourself?  

Infinity Pool has answers to all these things sitting in plain sight.  It distracts you with a scary mask or brutal unleashing of rage…but the film itself never loses sight of its grander purpose.  Flashing lights and artistic sex scenes attract your attention.  Their greatest impact is in how little impact they have on the characters.  If you can do anything…does anything matter?

There’s a heavy sci-fi element to Infinity Pool.  The released synopsis of the film flouts it.  It’s a clever one as it serves two purposes in the story.  In the shallow end…rich people can buy their way out of anything.  In the deep end…it provides a thematic resonance to James’s search for his true self. 

Wealthy people who get into trouble on the island (the kind of trouble that leads to an immediate death penalty) can buy their way out by consenting to the production of a living duplicate.  The duplicate will serve their death sentence and allow them to continue with their privileged lives.  Whether the duplicate or the original is the one being put to death isn’t given much discussion.  A cursory debate about whether or not it’s worth wondering about takes place.  The truth is that it doesn’t matter.  Infinity Pool is wise to acknowledge the question and move on.  It’s a shallow end topic.

Infinity Pool has more interesting discussions about it in the deep end.  When you can get away with anything…what won’t you do?  If you don’t know who you really are…how far will you go to discover the answer?  The latter is what ties James’s journey together.  When presented with the idea that he might not be the original James…he seems to quickly embrace the idea.  It’s a small character moment that says a big thing.  Even if he isn’t himself…at least he’s finally somebody.

We’ve purposely kept this review focused on themes instead of events in Infinity Pool.  That’s in part because we try to avoid spoilers in new releases, and in part because the themes are the more interesting parts.   While the movie is marketed as a wild orgy of violence and unchecked free will, it’s the quieter parts of Infinity Pool that matter most.  Don’t worry, there’s enough of the former to thrill and delight audiences in the market for it.  But those quiet moments…those late act answers to the earlier questions…that’s the more worthy end to swim in.

Scare Value

If it feels like Infinity Pool is asking questions that it doesn’t have the answers to…it is. As much as the movie is sold as a shocking film about the decadence of wealth or the brutality of man…it’s very much a personal tale about identity. Who we are, what we’re capable of and what we do now. It’s interesting that a story so relatable is packaged in a way that will turn off many viewers. But maybe that’s the point. People who look towards the horror are part of an exclusive club of their own. No matter what club you find yourself a part of…a crisis of identity inevitably haunts us all.

4/5

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