Finally had a chance to watch "Infinity Pool" last night and I have to say I found many aspects of the film to be very impressive.
Foremost among them is the world building that Cronenberg engages in when he conjures a bizarre, yet somehow still believable, post-Soviet police state that exists somewhere between the tropics and the Mediterranean coastline. If my deduction from opening credits is correct, it would appear that Croatia was the main filming location for the outdoor scenes. The country is given some crazy name and appears to be extremely poor and backwards, but with a thriving tourism industry. Thing is, tourists are confined to walled compounds surrounded by concertina wire and protected by armed guards. From what, we wonder?
The whole thing works despite a few ridiculous and entirely unrealistic premises - for example 1) That this poor backward country possesses the technology to create fully functional exact human clones within hours and/or 2) That given their laws regarding crime and punishment, it's hard to imagine anyone would ever want to go there at all with plenty of much safer alternatives available to the (mostly if not exclusively) rich clientele/tourists.
The cast was pretty much perfect for the occasion and the direction and cinematography were great and very visually compelling. In avoiding major plot holes and inconsistencies, Cronenberg does a good job of showing us just enough, but never too much so that it would be impossible to suspend disbelief and part of how he does so is in the visual direction.
As to the plot, well, I can see it being very polarizing to audiences. For one thing, as mentioned, it's semi-unbelievable. For another, it's a little convoluted for much of the film. Who is really in control? Who benefits from this strange place? How are we to interpret the ending?
So as to avoid any more spoilers, I won't get into specifics, but will conclude by saying "Infinity Pool" is very much of a piece with other recent movies like "Parasite", "Nuevo Orden", "Triangle of Sadness" and even "The Menu." The fabulously wealthy class of society is skewered in each of those films, but never more violently and disturbingly so as in Cronenberg's story - as it should be.
8/10 from me, but I can understand some of the lower reviews as well.
Foremost among them is the world building that Cronenberg engages in when he conjures a bizarre, yet somehow still believable, post-Soviet police state that exists somewhere between the tropics and the Mediterranean coastline. If my deduction from opening credits is correct, it would appear that Croatia was the main filming location for the outdoor scenes. The country is given some crazy name and appears to be extremely poor and backwards, but with a thriving tourism industry. Thing is, tourists are confined to walled compounds surrounded by concertina wire and protected by armed guards. From what, we wonder?
The whole thing works despite a few ridiculous and entirely unrealistic premises - for example 1) That this poor backward country possesses the technology to create fully functional exact human clones within hours and/or 2) That given their laws regarding crime and punishment, it's hard to imagine anyone would ever want to go there at all with plenty of much safer alternatives available to the (mostly if not exclusively) rich clientele/tourists.
The cast was pretty much perfect for the occasion and the direction and cinematography were great and very visually compelling. In avoiding major plot holes and inconsistencies, Cronenberg does a good job of showing us just enough, but never too much so that it would be impossible to suspend disbelief and part of how he does so is in the visual direction.
As to the plot, well, I can see it being very polarizing to audiences. For one thing, as mentioned, it's semi-unbelievable. For another, it's a little convoluted for much of the film. Who is really in control? Who benefits from this strange place? How are we to interpret the ending?
So as to avoid any more spoilers, I won't get into specifics, but will conclude by saying "Infinity Pool" is very much of a piece with other recent movies like "Parasite", "Nuevo Orden", "Triangle of Sadness" and even "The Menu." The fabulously wealthy class of society is skewered in each of those films, but never more violently and disturbingly so as in Cronenberg's story - as it should be.
8/10 from me, but I can understand some of the lower reviews as well.