Infinity Pool Plot
Infinity Pool follows a lowly novelist James Foster (Alexander Skarsgard) and his wealthy wife Em Foster (Cleopatra Coleman) who are vacationing together in Li Tolqa. While vacationing the two of them run into another couple, Gabi Bauer (Mia Goth) and her husband Alban Bauer (Jalil Lespert), and the quartet hit it off, even deciding to go off for a little beachside picnic and drinks that keep them out until the dark hours. While driving back from this little picnic, James accidentally hits and kills someone which eventually leads to his arrest and conviction for the crime.
It’s here where James and Em learn a secret about Li Tolqa that makes the little seaside town somewhat of a popular spot among wealthy tourists. See, in Li Tolqa for a large fee you can have yourself cloned, a clone complete with all your knowledge and memories, and the clone will be the one to take the punishment for any crime committed for you. This begins James’s descent into depravity, slowly embracing the true lifestyle of the rich and famous… namely the idea that you can do anything if the only real consequence is a little bit of money.
Infinity Pool Review
From the very moment Infinity Pool begins, it’s setting a dark twisted tone that puts you on alert and never let’s go. Everything about this film feels carefully calculated, from the strange off-putting framing that emphasises certain body parts to the slow glide of the upside-down camera that disorients the audience so completely that it takes a while to get back to normal.
It’s all so well thought out with the intent of making the audience feel uneasy, maybe even a little sick at times, which feels pretty on-brand for a Cronenberg film. It’s becoming quite clear that Brandon Cronenberg is going to continue his father’s legacy of making gloriously fucked up horror films that push the limits of the genre.
Infinity Pool does have a very specific visual language that can be a touch overstimulating at times, especially when they decide to bring in the strange flickering lights and heavy distortion for a few shots. It feels like it’s just there to try and look cool though it can be just a touch headache inducing but for the most part it works in service of the core unsubtle point this film is making because shocker of shocks a Cronenberg film has an unsubtle point it would like to make.
Infinity Pool as a whole is an extreme version of the idea that the wealthy are allowed to basically do whatever they want since, for them, a fine is little more than the cost of doing business. It’s not like this is an unknown phenomenon. Rich people buying their way out of trouble is something so well known that a few years ago we all learned the term affluenza because a rich kid named Ethan Couch killed four people and injured nine with his car while he was drunk off his ass and the defense argued he was too rich to know right from wrong.
That kid got ten years’ probation by the way, probation which he’s violated twice forcing him to serve a total of 720 days in jail for killing four people and injuring nine. Safe to say, the knowledge of this existing in the real world only makes the story of Infinity Pool feel more relevant than ever.
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It also helps that Infinity Pool is not afraid to pointedly call out how governments allow the rich to do this, actively offering the service that allows the rich to evade consequences even when those wealthy assholes are killing the people of their town. Again, it’s pointedly over the top and extreme (It’s Cronenberg, that name was your warning sign that this is going to be some over-the-top extreme shit) but it doesn’t feel too far outside of the realm of reality (other than the cloning element) and that makes everything that happens all the more terrifying.
We’ve all seen rich assholes who get away with horrible things because they’re so rich they basically just pay for the privilege to do harm, Infinity Pool gives that idea a heavy dose of steroids and lets it loose on the screen.
What really makes this work is the cast they have playing rich assholes, who are just so damn good at selling it, in all its strange glory. In particular, the two central leads of Skarsgard and Goth have the kind of dynamic power play that carries the film with ease. Skarsgard is handed the role of audience surrogate and manages to convey the shock and confusion that one would have being thrown into this world, meanwhile Goth just goes for broke and is having the time of her life.
There’s a reason why she’s fast becoming horror royalty and her fearless, fun performance here is a good indication of why. The rest of the cast is fantastic too, mostly relegated to just being in the background for the main two but they support them well.
Of course, Infinity Pool does have a few problems, namely with its indulgence. At two hours long, it stretches a lot of things out far more than they probably need, such as the drug orgy sequence or a few of the crime spree moments that stretch on just long enough that the tension that’s been so carefully built starts to strain a little.
Sure, the film manages to get that tension back and keeps it to the strange and explosive climax that really hammers home the idea of the rich getting away with anything and not having it impact their lives in any meaningful way but there’s more than a few times when the pacing makes it a harder viewing experience than it should be.
Infinity Pool Overall
On the whole, Infinity Pool is a dark strange slice of social commentary delivered as only a Cronenberg could do it. Visceral and shocking with more than a few truly surprising moments, Infinity Pool has something to say and says it in a way that shows just how powerful a good horror film can be when it uses the genre to deliver a message. Some parts might be a little clunky but on the whole, it’s a twist-filled delight that will have you preparing the salt and pepper for when the time comes to inevitably eat the rich.
Have You Watched Infinity Pool?
Did Infinity Pool make you want to do something to destroy the rich and take their ill-gotten wealth?
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