Review of Infinity Pool (2023) by Markhreviews — 15 Feb 2023

Alexander Skarsgård is one of the more courageous actors working today. He’s been willing to portray unappealing characters and to take big risks with the roles he’s played. Recently, he’s been an abusive husband in TV’s “Big Little Lies,” an amoral tech CEO (I know, redundant, right?) on “Succession” and a Viking prince with anger management issues in the film “The Northman.” His role here may be his most challenging to date.

In Writer/Director Brandon Cronenberg’s “Infinity Pool,” James (Skarsgård) and his wife are vacationing at La Tolqa, a fictional beachfront resort. After publishing a single, poorly-received book six years ago, James is seeking inspiration. The couple encounters Gabi (Mia Goth) and Alban, who invite them on a trip outside the compound, even though it’s strictly forbidden. Driving back drunk, James hits and kills a local resident. He’s arrested and taken by the police to a sober, concrete, Soviet-style police station where he’s presented with a choice. He can be executed for his capital crime. Or, for a hefty fee, he can be cloned and have his double die in his place. After that, the movie gets weird.

As with his first film “Possessor,” Cronenberg demonstrates his skill as a provocateur. The opening visual, where the camera rotates 360 degrees, informs us early that what’s to come will be disorienting. People wear grotesque masks. They engage in orgies, although they’re more psychedelic than explicit. This is a film that’s disturbing, bewildering, upsetting and disgusting but also thought-provoking.

What works here is the acting. Skarsgård shows his versatility as James (and one or two of his clones). After starring in this year’s “Pearl” and “X,” Mia Goth uses this project to solidify her status as the latest scream queen. She’s particularly skillful at compellingly portraying unhinged maniacs.

What doesn’t occur is adequate development of the many themes Cronenberg addresses in the film. He clearly disdains the entitlement of rich Western travelers who inflict themselves on some of the world’s poorest but most beautiful countries. But his critique of privilege is neither as well-focused nor as insightful as what we’ve already seen in “Parasite,” “The Menu” or even “Glass Onion.” He swings and misses when given the opportunity to address the nature of humanness in the context of clones. Where he connects most powerfully is when he proposes that humans will sink to their worst instincts and impulses when placed in a world where their actions have no consequences.

In 1996’s “Crash,” Writer/Director David Cronenberg, Brandon’s father, explored a subculture of people physically disfigured in car crashes. In “Infinity Pool,” Brandon Cronenberg is clearly interested in exploring a less obvious disfigurement: events that warp the psyche and damage if not obliterate the soul.