Infinity PoolSome of us become entirely different people when we're on vacation. Infinity Pool is a science fiction body horror psychothriller about an affluent, yet uninspired, writer named James Foster (Alexander Skarsgård), who visits an island resort situated on the fictitious third-world nation of Li Tolqa--along with his wealthy wife, Em (Cleopatra Coleman)--looking for inspiration. What James finds comes by way of another couple vacationing with them, including a voluptuous, doting fan named Gabi Bauer (Mia Goth). After a forbidden sojourn outside of the resort complex--ending in the hit and run of a local farmer--James finds himself in hot water with the law. But with enough money, it seems that even death itself isn't final.
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Written and directed by Brandon Cronenberg, Infinity Pool is an ambitious and bold condemnation of affluence and decadence. The island nation of Li Tolqa is an exaggerated example of the kind of tropical vacation destinations the rich and famous frequent, not out of a desire for culture but to find a haven for indulging their depravity. (Not openly as a rule, mind you, but in secret.) Infinity Pool takes this idea and explodes it into a vivid and disgusting tableau, showing just how low someone who looks "normal" can go once given permission to do so. James begins as a vanilla "everyman", although Skarsgård's performance runs the gamut of emotions over the course of the film. James is forced to conceal his shame at being a one-hit wonder of an author, and he's painfully aware that it is likely that the only reason for his single novel finding publication at all comes from marrying into the business. When James and Em dine with Gabi and her Swiss husband, Alban (Jalil Lespert), Em comments that James got his wealth by "marrying into it". True, although tactless, and maybe even a case of twisting the knife. Em doesn't seem to care for Li Tolqa, so it seems like James is a little too comfortable spending her money on the justification that the setting will give him ideas. Anyone in the audience should sense that it's not just a case of writer's block; words often fail James in all possible situations. He's crucially passive in his own life, and he hates it, but again: he's powerless. So, like the child he is accused of being near the film's conclusion, he is waiting for an opportunity to lash out. And it comes.
From this point on, I feel it necessary to say that spoilers are ahead, because these are crucial to understanding that Infinity Pool is not just an erotic drama about disaffected wealthy people. In actuality, it explores deep Freudian themes as well as class disparity and rich people being out of touch with reality--the latter of which seems to be a popular film topic, including films like The Menu. After James--who had been drinking--drives the others back from a picnic by the coast, and he strikes dead the native citizen, he and Em are arrested by the police. James is charged for the killing by Detective Thresh (Thomas Kretschmann), who informs him that the penalty is to be murdered in kind by the victim's eldest son. "An eye for an eye" has been a form of justice as old as time, but for someone like James who has been insulated from the harsh realities of the world, it is unconscionable. And this is where Thresh informs James that as a part of Li Tolqa's tourism program, they allow for those with enough money to pay for a "duplicate" to be crafted and slain in their stead. What follows is a psychedelic, body horror process depicted through confusing and rapid images, with the result being the creation of a perfect simulacra of James--a schizophrenic concept that feels eerily in tune with the works of Philip K. Dick, like "Valis" or "A Scanner Darkly". It's immediately evident to viewers that there is no clear distinction as to which of these is the "real" James, since the duplicate presumably shares all of the memories with its progenitor. And yet, for all of his milquetoast demeanor up until the execution, once "James" sees himself being publicly stabbed to death, he becomes excited. Was this always something latent within him, or is this a "glitch" within the clone instead? That question lingers over the entirety of Infinity Pool. After the execution, Gabi invites James to their villa, discovering that she, Alban, and a group of their vacationing friends have all met with a similar fate. They claim that it has to do with the strict laws of the country, but before long they plot to rob and murder...and James is pressured into going along with it. Wearing ugly masks that feel reminiscent of "The Twilight Zone", they commit savage atrocities, ending up back at the police station, being executed en masse. The deterrent of punishment has no meaning to them, as they are all stinking rich. Their level of depravity reaches outlandish heights, and even James' conscience tries to reassert itself, yet ultimately faltering under the weight of peer pressure. The cycle continues, and James cannot escape. The title--Infinity Pool--is a nod to the opulent form of a style of swimming pool that seemingly has no boundaries. Appropriate here; I wonder if the title "Infinity Loop" was also considered...
Recommended for: Fans of a thought-provoking and uncomfortable drama that graphically combines sex, violence, and drug abuse into a searing indictment of the perils of excess and mankind's terrible dark side, barely restrained by the confines of the law. Infinity Pool is a deeply complex film, albeit not for the faint of heart, recalling other transgressive social critiques like Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom or even Videodrome by the filmmaker's father, David Cronenberg.
From this point on, I feel it necessary to say that spoilers are ahead, because these are crucial to understanding that Infinity Pool is not just an erotic drama about disaffected wealthy people. In actuality, it explores deep Freudian themes as well as class disparity and rich people being out of touch with reality--the latter of which seems to be a popular film topic, including films like The Menu. After James--who had been drinking--drives the others back from a picnic by the coast, and he strikes dead the native citizen, he and Em are arrested by the police. James is charged for the killing by Detective Thresh (Thomas Kretschmann), who informs him that the penalty is to be murdered in kind by the victim's eldest son. "An eye for an eye" has been a form of justice as old as time, but for someone like James who has been insulated from the harsh realities of the world, it is unconscionable. And this is where Thresh informs James that as a part of Li Tolqa's tourism program, they allow for those with enough money to pay for a "duplicate" to be crafted and slain in their stead. What follows is a psychedelic, body horror process depicted through confusing and rapid images, with the result being the creation of a perfect simulacra of James--a schizophrenic concept that feels eerily in tune with the works of Philip K. Dick, like "Valis" or "A Scanner Darkly". It's immediately evident to viewers that there is no clear distinction as to which of these is the "real" James, since the duplicate presumably shares all of the memories with its progenitor. And yet, for all of his milquetoast demeanor up until the execution, once "James" sees himself being publicly stabbed to death, he becomes excited. Was this always something latent within him, or is this a "glitch" within the clone instead? That question lingers over the entirety of Infinity Pool. After the execution, Gabi invites James to their villa, discovering that she, Alban, and a group of their vacationing friends have all met with a similar fate. They claim that it has to do with the strict laws of the country, but before long they plot to rob and murder...and James is pressured into going along with it. Wearing ugly masks that feel reminiscent of "The Twilight Zone", they commit savage atrocities, ending up back at the police station, being executed en masse. The deterrent of punishment has no meaning to them, as they are all stinking rich. Their level of depravity reaches outlandish heights, and even James' conscience tries to reassert itself, yet ultimately faltering under the weight of peer pressure. The cycle continues, and James cannot escape. The title--Infinity Pool--is a nod to the opulent form of a style of swimming pool that seemingly has no boundaries. Appropriate here; I wonder if the title "Infinity Loop" was also considered...
Recommended for: Fans of a thought-provoking and uncomfortable drama that graphically combines sex, violence, and drug abuse into a searing indictment of the perils of excess and mankind's terrible dark side, barely restrained by the confines of the law. Infinity Pool is a deeply complex film, albeit not for the faint of heart, recalling other transgressive social critiques like Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom or even Videodrome by the filmmaker's father, David Cronenberg.