Review: Brandon Cronenberg's weird and wonderful 'Infinity Pool' is a unique ride

Mia Goth and Alexander Skarsgård in director Brandon Cronenberg's 'Infinity Pool,' mixing identity crisis and body horror at an exclusive resort.

The propulsive narrative and queasy, off-kilter camerawork by cinematographer Karim Hussain combine to create the sensation of being sucked down into a surreal whirlpool, entering a world that’s off-balance, almost tilted, as if we’re on a ship. The cool color palette denies the beauty of the location, and all the compositions list to the left.

While James is tipsily navigating their illegally rented convertible back to the resort, the headlights malfunction, and he hits and kills a local farmer, triggering his descent into the unique and dystopian legal process of the impoverished, religious and conservative Li Tolqa. He’s sentenced to die for his hit-and-run, ordered to be executed by the man’s young son. But for a hefty fee, the police can create his “double” or a clone, to be killed instead. The only catch? He has to watch.

Choosing the double seems the only choice, but it’s the one that sends James spiraling down a rabbit hole, falling in with Gabi and Alban’s crowd, all of whom have been doubled before, escaping accountability and consequences with their money. The new lease on life emboldens them to act out, deriving as much hedonistic pleasure from a home invasion as they do a drug-fueled orgy.

This feels like a quintessential follow-up to a breakthrough film — a project about writer’s block, horrible rich people and losing one’s identity over and over again, only finding peace in submitting to powerful forces beyond one’s control. Whether James is a good writer doesn’t seem to matter, and if he finds himself again is unclear, but Cronenberg sure has fun pouring blood and bodily fluids on the problem and seeing how far he can push boundaries.

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