As with any Cronenberg (David or Brandon) movie, you must be in a particular mood for Infinity Pool. A viewer can’t nonchalantly wander into a Cronenberg film. It needs to be experienced. And love it or hate it, Infinity Pool commands your attention.
Writer/director Brandon Cronenberg begins Infinity Pool innocently enough. James (Alexander Skarsgard) is an author struggling to overcome writer’s block, worried he’s simply not talented enough to pen another book. Fortunately, money isn’t an issue as his wife, Em (Cleopatra Coleman), comes from a wealthy family. Her dad’s a book publisher and warned her not to marry a writer. Because her father’s a monster, she ignored his advice.
James and Em are vacationing at a gorgeous resort on a fictitious isolated island when Gabi (Mia Goth) introduces chaos into their lives. Gabi fangirls over James, claiming to love his novel (released six years prior). That ego-stroking leads to James and Em agreeing to an excursion with Gabi and Alban (Jalil Lespert) outside the safety of the gated resort. Barb wire tops its fence, warning its impoverished neighbors not to dare sully the resort’s idyllic façade.
The two couples take a relaxing drive to a pristine, secluded beach. There’s talk of cannibalism and laughter at the thought of eating James. In just a matter of hours, Gabi and Albin have wormed their way into James and Em’s lives. Gabi even makes a power move of masturbating James; he’s stunned by the act but doesn’t tell her to stop.
Alcohol is consumed and James believes he’s the only one sober enough to drive home. That is his second of what will be a lengthy string of disastrous decisions, the first being breaking the rules and leaving the resort’s grounds.
The car’s headlights go out and James becomes distracted. He makes a tragic mistake the consequences of which take him on a horrifying dive into the world of clones.
Although the area outside the resort is poverty-stricken, they have the technology to make doubles of wealthy tourists who’ve gotten themselves into trouble with the law. For a hefty sum of cash, a double – who shares the guilty person’s memories as well as his/her physical attributes – can take the punishment. And on this island, punishment is nearly always death.
Understandably, Em wants to leave as soon as they’re allowed to return to the resort. But James needs to understand what happened. He’s welcomed into an exclusive club of other tourists who’ve experienced being doubled…a club that includes Gabi and Alban.
A dangerous, horrifying, and absurd game ensues among those who’ve tested the waters at least once. This knowledge gives them the freedom to live out their most grotesque dreams, and this hedonistic group feasts on the fact money can buy their way out of any crime.
Cult-like behavior follows, and Cronenberg tosses in a graphic orgy because he can. James, a regular guy as the film began, loses all touch with his humanity.
Cronenberg’s assembled an incredible cast to bring this gruesome horror story to life. Skarsgard continues to score big by taking chances, and Mia Goth’s mesmerizing as both his muse and his tormentor.
Extreme closeups and hallucinatory images are used to hypnotize the audience and pull us into this twisted, nightmare world. Terrifying masks hide and then blend in with the actors’ faces. Diving into Brandon Cronenberg’s shocking, gore-infused sci-fi horror film isn’t a pleasurable experience, but it is weirdly engrossing.
Infinity Pool isn’t an easy watch, but it is an undefinable, unique experience meant to spark conversation. There came a point in Infinity Pool, as often happens in a Cronenberg production, where I wasn’t sure I was interpreting the filmmaker’s intentions correctly. That struggle to understand is part of the joy of engaging in a Cronenberg film. If that applies to your taste in films, then just go with it and lap up Infinity Pool.
GRADE: B
Infinity Pool screened at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Neon has set a January 27, 2023 limited theatrical release.
