Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.
Additionally, some images and text may include affiliate links, meaning we may earn a commission or receive products if you make a purchase.
“Infinity Pool” is a mesmerizing and seductive nightmare in which Mia Goth plays hostess.
| Director(s) | Brandon Cronenberg |
| Screenplay By | Brandon Cronenberg |
| Based On | N/A |
| Date Released (In Theaters) | January 23, 2023 |
| Genre(s) | Crime, Drama, Fantasy ,Horror |
| Duration | 1 Hour and 57 Minutes |
| Content Rating | Rated R |
| Noted Cast | |
| James | Alexander Skarsgård |
| Em | Cleopatra Coleman |
| Gabi | Mia Goth |
This content contains pertinent spoilers. Also, images and text in this post may contain affiliate links which, if a purchase is made from those sites, we may earn money or products from the company.
Film Summary
It has been 6 years since James wrote his first and only book, which was not only a commercial bomb but critically panned. Despite his failure and wallowing in it, his wife, the daughter of his publisher, Em, has stuck by his side. Mainly to spite her father, but maybe out of some semblance of love.
After all, how else could you explain her taking him to some resort on her dime, so he can maybe gain inspiration? How else would you explain her dining with a woman like Gabi, who knows no boundaries and is a blatant flirt?
But love and spite have their limits. This becomes clear as Gabi’s attention, if not obsession, leads to dark and corrupting desires. The kind that leads to the need to question not only if James got the inspiration he needed but whether this one woman may have drastically changed him forever?
Things To Note
Why Is “Infinity Pool” Rated R
- Dialog: cursing throughout
- Violence: gun violence, body horror
- Sexual Content: male and female nudity, orgies, and bodily fluids
- Miscellaneous: drinking, drug use
Character Descriptions
Please Note: This character guide is not an exhaustive list of every cast member, and character descriptions may contain what can be considered spoilers.
James
Ten years married, six years since his last book, James had been coasting without much drive, initiative, or even production. This isn’t a secret to anyone who sees or gets to know him. But, with a certain charm and attractiveness, you can see why Em remains even with financing his life for years.
- You May Also Know The Actor From Being: Pery Wright in “Big Little Lies,” Eric Northman in “True Blood,” and Amleth in “The Northman.”
Em
The daughter of a successful and wealthy publisher, Em’s life seems to be about being an heiress who takes care of her man – for better or worse.
- You May Also Know The Actor From Being: Simone in “Sorry For Your Loss,” Rya in “In the Shadow of the Moon,” and unknown roles in the upcoming “Not an Artist” and “Rebel Moon.”
Gabi
An English transplant now working out of Los Angeles as a commercial actress, Gabi may come off innocent, maybe even goofy, but there is a darkness to her. One that, if you ever get snared and look at her too long or too deeply, you’ll find yourself trapped in a dream you will struggle to define as it swivels from a fever dream to a traumatic nightmare.
- You May Also Know The Actor From Being: Maxine and Pearl in “X,” “Pearl,” and “MaXXXine,” Harriet Smith in “Emma,” and P in “Nymphomaniac: Vol. II”
Review
Our Rating: Positive (Worth Seeing)
Highlights
Mia Goth
Mia Goth has the archetype of playing an on-edge psycho down pat. As Gabi, she is someone you can’t take your eyes off. She is a femme Fatale. Alluring, dangerous, completely beyond full comprehension, yet even with knowing you can’t match her energy or madness, you want more.
Goth leaves you barely caring Gabi is seducing a married man, in a happy relationship or not. She just eats up the scene, and even when, towards the end, when she loses her luster, she quickly bounces back. Thus making it clear Goth is the kind of actor who can take what may seem undeserving of her and make it gold.
The Kind of Visuals and Body Horror You Expect From a Cronenberg Film
Body horror, if not outright psychological horror, is the Cronenberg family’s bread, butter, and glass of wine. It’s their comfort zone, and like Goth, the Cronenberg son eases you into their world before you feel trapped. It begins with little things, like a camera flipping upside down, and evolves to being uncomfortably close to someone’s lips and eyes, seeing a dead person still bleed out.
In a way, it’s like Bugs Bunny drawing the line back, and you realizing taking another step won’t kill you until you are over the cliff and find yourself becoming overwhelmed for you went too far.
On The Fence
It May Feel Like It Is Overstaying Its Welcome
While Cronenberg knows how to build up to peak madness, and Mia Goth is the perfect instrument for him to use, you will become adjusted to what both can offer.
At that point, the fun, the thrill, and maybe even the scares are over. Goth less so makes you unable to take your eyes off her and becomes an increasingly sore sight. The attempts to make things cerebral, horrific, or visually disturbing dissipate. And while Goth pulls a last-minute save to bring you back into the fold, her quick dose of sugar and honey doesn’t take away from the smell and taste of the film starting to rot.
[ninja_tables id=”46802″]
Images used for editorial and commentary purposes. All rights remain with their respective copyright holders.
