We reported on Infinity Pool a while back, and from the trailer, I knew I wanted to watch it. I got the chance this week, so here’s my review.
The movie stars Alexander Skarsgard, Mia Goth, Cleopatra Coleman, Thomas Krethschmann, Jeff Ricketts, and John Ralston. It’s written and directed by Brandon Cronenberg, son of cinema legend, David Cronenberg.
I’m going to start off by saying, you can see David’s influence on Brandon. From the very opening shot of Infinity Pool, the movie has a ‘style’ about it, which isn’t David, but very much like his work.
James, played by Skarsgard, and Em Foster, played by Coleman, are staying at a very exclusive hotel resort on an island in the middle of nowhere. James meets Gabi, played by Goth, and then her boyfriend/husband.
All four of them head out for a day away from the resort, something that they shouldn’t do, since the locals aren’t fans of the rich folk. On the way back home, James accidentally runs over and kills a local farmer.
Gabi tells him not to worry about it, they will clear everything up, and everyone heads back to the resort and back to bed. The end.
No, this is just the first act. James wakes up to find the police at his door, he’s taken to the local station, where he’s given a choice, face trial, and execution, as the local custom is that the son of the murdered man can kill the murderer.
Or there is another option, which I won’t say what it is, since I don’t want to spoil it, but it’s something I didn’t see coming and made Acts 2 and 3, very interesting.
What follows is basically a surreal nightmare for James and made me think that the execution would have been the best option. The entire story was very well done and kept me hooked.
Infinity Pool is not an easy watch, as you know, I love controversial movies, and this is right up there with the best of them. Some of the scenes are pretty gruesome and quite sexual, and the entire plot is “uncomfortable”.
This was a very clever movie, with an interesting theme that, I imagine, some people won’t like, but to a twisted individual like me, found very interesting.
The direction is spot on, the flow of the movie is very good and there are moments of freaky, psychedelic editing that would make a regular user of LSD have an epileptic fit.
The cast is great, Starsgard really does suffer in the movie and you really feel for him, a lot. Mainly because of Mia Goth, who is slowly becoming one of my favourite actresses at the moment.
In the early stages of the movie, she’s a sweet girl from London and, just to mention, her accent is spot on and, I cannot lie, hot to listen to. As the movie unfolds, she becomes the main antagonist for James and she does it really well. And yes, she does get nude in the movie.
Infinity Pool isn’t going to be everyone’s cuppa, but I found it one of those movies I thought about, a lot, after seeing it. You know when you put yourself in a protagonist’s shoes and think about how far you get through a movie? For me, I would have given up somewhere near the end of the first act.
I say that, but something about the movie is, could James actually give up? It’s pretty clever.
Infinity Pool is available to rent online from most places at the moment.
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