INFINITY POOL - Movie Review
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
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#infinitypool #moviereview
When I started watching Deepfocuslens years back I always liked that she was: A) Talking about movies without any fancy over-the-top editing and effects, B) Both reviewed films I already valued and introduced me to the ones I had little to no knowledge of but was keen to watch thanks to her, and C) Sat down on the floor surrounded by great movie posters and interesting books. That set Deepfocuslens out.
It is nice to see that this is still the case today.
I honestly cannot stand that over-produced, posturing "look at me" video making style. It encourages narcissism which is growing in influence in social media and video sharing sites.
I enjoyed this movie for what it is. I liked the premise. I didn’t think it was as shocking or outrageous as many critics had said. Mia Goth is a star!! It’s worth a watch.
Mia Goth is okay
I totally agree with what you said, that the movie felt like it didn't know where to go at some point. There was a point near the latter half of the movie where I instantly thought, "they don't know how to end this". I still think he didn't know how to end the movie, and that's what left me thinking that there was just something missing. Overall, I liked the movie and liked the slum tourism themes. I also liked how he satirizes himself and probably Skarsgard through James.
Thank you for your review! You have such a nice way of talking!
I felt hugely disappointed by this film. Possessor by contrast felt so much more explorative, experimental, experiential. In every sense this film felt like a step backwards; I found it so juvenile and obvious, and disliked the dull art direction and brash soundtrack (I gasped when Tim Hecker's name appeared in the credits, because I normally love him). Reminded me of the toothless satire of later series of Black Mirror.
Your reviews are always so thoughtful and of a different calibre to many others on youtube, thank you for continuing to make them
I personally think this is his best work, and rivals lots of David Cronenbergs work too
Agreed
Great review, as always.
Would love to hear your thoughts on the movie Aftersun too
Also, congrats on the 50k subs!!
I wanted to ask exactly the same thing!
Congrats on 50k. Loved Possessor, agree 100% with you on this. Thanks
I liked the idea of seeing your clone get killed. I wish the movie went more deep into that.
It had the potential to go deeper.
This was the best film I've seen in a long time, sharp in a way that I wish Crimes of the Future had been.
@CWS and TKP 66-02 Big mad and commenting on youtube? Name a more iconic combination!
@CWS and TKP 66-02 someone’s butthurt
I’ve been recommending Infinity Pool as an introduction to Brandon Cronenberg’s work, as the narrative is somewhat easier to follow, and both Mia Goth and Alexander Skarsgård are draws. Possessor, Antiviral and his excellent short (Please Speak Continuously and Describe your Experiences as They Come to You) go a bit deeper imho. I’m really looking forward to what he does next.
3:41 Maggy, I'm from central Europe (Slovenia), it looks nor feels NOTHING like the place in the movie LOL.
To me the landscape and the people felt from a small forsaken island by the Pacific coastline of South America or in Indonesia.
---
However, your review did manage to capture the sentiment I felt but didn't know how to express so eloquently.
I would add that for the first 45 or so minutes, the atmosphere was phenomenal. It was creepy, it was haunting, it was erotic, you knew something major was looming nearby. It pulled me in, I didn't want it to stop. I even bought the premise of making a clone despite major believability flaws.
But then entire movie thing deflated like a fart balloon as soon as Skargard's double died. The energy changed and it was too big of a shift to keep me fully engaged. Soon after, I just wanted the movie to end. It became masochistic, like Cronenberg just had to blow off steam for some personal injustice and betrayal.
Acting wise, Mia Goth is almost too good as the psycho bitch. To the point where I'm scared of how living with her in real life must look like. She is the highlight of the movie, although I do have to say that this is the second movie (recently saw "Suspiria" for the first time) where I needed to turn on subtitles just because Mia wasn't speaking some of her lines clearly.
Skarsgard is solid. For my taste a bit too physically imposing to become so weak mentally. Which is why I had a hard time believing his helplessness in the last third of the movie.
Overall, couldn't get enough of the atmosphere in the first 1/3, was disappointed the 2/3 couldn't match it, wanted the movie to end by the start of 3/3.
Love your reviews! Deepfocuslens for president!
Family dinners at the Cronenberg household must have been fascinating!
While Possessor Uncut feels unarguably superior to Pool in terms of cinematic merit, this one really did it for me too, just a little less so.
Without comparison I’d say l Infinity Pool is fantastic.
I really loved a lot of the off center framing used throughout, and perhaps my favorite bit of camerawork is the return of the camera spin establishing shot used for the resort.
Loved the way the camera rolled around the cityscape in Possessor, so even having it return here just once was enough to wow me over.
With the exception of the track accompanying the root trip, the score really wasn’t for me- Jim Williams did some amazing work for Possessor and I can’t help but wonder what he could’ve brought to the musical table here if given the job.
Really need to catch Anti-Viral, also wouldn’t mind seeing a few of Brandon’s shorts!
Excellent review per usual!
Not in his final form yet, but definitely someone with a vision and voice. This one was a bit much to just accept and not question though. Loved Mia Goth.
love your reviews! thoughts on Triangle of Sadness?
I thought it went overboard with the gore. I wonder what they cut from the NC-17 version. Because they let a lot pass.
Yeah I was probably a little disappointed by the movie, I did like the sequences you mentioned though. The Tim Hecker soundtrack was great to see though, will be listening to that more so glad we got that out of it. Would be nice to see more people mention Tim Hecker too. His album Virgins is probably one of my favourite works of art.
The soundtrack is so good. I keep listening to In the Club, Orgy, and The Infinity Pool.
I really like Mia Goth and Alexander Skarsgard in this but the movie didn't land well for me. We've seen ideas like this explored in movies like Hostel. The cloning aspect got a little lost in the background, which was a bummer cause it was the most interesting part.
I really dug Possessor. It's maximalist and splattery and I felt like the the psychedelic sequences made sense and communicated the character's experience without words, and I felt like it successfully explored the ideas of invasion and privacy through that sci-fi-horror lens. Admittedly I haven't seen Antiviral because the premise grosses me out (lol) but I'll get to it when I feel especially brave.
Infinity Pool felt larger and weirder and way more ambitious, but also a bit more hollow? The psychedelic imagery felt a bit unnecessary and self-indulgent. I think it's a very interesting film though. Where Possessor reminded me of Scanners or Videodrome, Infinity Pool felt more in line with Crash or Dead Ringers, with more of a horror lens, and I liked that but it paled in comparison.
I am TOTALLY on board for anything he decides to make though. I didn't love Infinity Pool but I was never bored by it and I appreciate his voice, both independent of and influenced by his father's.
Agreed with this, loved Possessor, Infinity Pool was good not great. Definitely felt more hollow/more incomplete and maybe 10 mins too long imo.
this movie left me very confused. And I'm not sure if it's because I don't get it or it's deliberately confusing because Brandon Cronenberg himself didn't have a clear idea and used the psychedelic atmosphere and the influences of his father, Cosmatos and Lord of the flies to escape his own confusion trying to look deep and vague. It looks like it's a movie that under the horror surface wants to convey a statement of sort, what it is I really don't know. People with money are bad and without rules they don't have boundaries? Humans don't really have empathy? I don't know.
I agree. Well put.
Fantastic review! Thank you, Maggie.
*@**3:46**:* Welcome to the faraway yet "still familiar" land of *Ruritania!*
Exotic but "accessible", different but non-threatening.
I just watched this movie recently, it was almost a great film
Totally agree. It's so interesting and has great ideas, but...
That fine line between psychedelia and incoherence is crossed about 30 minutes in,
A man alone, or a man, a clone ?
Who am I?
Who are we?
Who cares?
I think the junior cronenberg's movies have gotten progressively worse in terms of concept, with Antiviral being his best movie of the bunch. There was a glaring plot hole/contrivance that ruined Infinity Pool for me, that being that the government of this ostensibly poor country has space age cloning tech or magic.
Regardless of the true nature of the cloning, a nation that had this ability would not be poor, nor would they resort to using it to trivially circumvent their own laws or cultural norms (nor would they be able to keep it a secret from the outside world). maybe if the clones were less perfect, or if they were being killed for magic rituals, that would make me able to suspend my disbelief a bit more, but as it stands the foundation for the plot is too shaky to make the rest of the movie mean much.
By the half way mark we no longer even sympathize with the protagonist, I was almost sure they were going to switch focus to his wife and have her stuck in the clone hell, seeing as she is the only character in the film who isnt morally reprehensible, but instead they tried to make us care about a despicable character they hinted might already be dead.
This movie reminds me very much of It Follows in the sense that both movies put symbolism, metaphor, and morality plays too far ahead of a coherent plot or good writing; it amounts to a two hour film that basically only conveys the same philosophical quandary as the ship of Theseus, which is a story that can be told in 2 minutes.
@CWS and TKP 66-02 glad I'm not the only one who felt this way. I think logically youre right that his wife should have started divorce proceedings, but people arent completely logical especially when it comes to romantic relationships. I could see her staying by him thinking he was stuck without a passport, but the way it was written it certainly seemed like she was going to break up with him. functionally I think it serves to still give him something to lose other than his life.
it occurs to me that 30 years ago this movie wouldve just been made without the cloning subplot and been released as an ero*** thriller.
I was prepared to enjoy it because I really liked Possessor but this felt too "stock footage" a24 shock value trauma stuff for my taste. there really wasnt enough to chew on. the ideas of desperation about death plus doppelgangers is intriguing but it just didnt come together in my opinion. also i rolled my eyes when the cheesy faux-auteur psychadelic drug/sex scenes that went on wayyy too long TWICE
The movie had cool concepts but to me it was just noise. I never thought it was this amazing cohesive movie. It also felt a little shallow, like the director didn’t really have a lot to say
I enjoyed and appreciated it, but I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a great movie.
Yep, that's exactly how I felt about it. Overall glad to have seen it at the theater, but I had pretty high hopes for it (since I liked his prior film Possessor a lot) and I came away slightly disappointed.
Best movie I've seen in a long time.
Great reviews, maggie!🙂
You’re finally reviewing Avengers: Infinity War!
Wait! Wait………..what the hell is Infinity Pool?
Maggie, you MUST review Cocaine Bear!!!
The movie was too polished and wrapped up in it's aesthetic. Facing yourself is an interesting concept, but facing yourself over and over is a little tireding. The main character had no redeemable characteristics along with the rest of the cast. Some cool, trippy scenes and ideas, but nothing really fleshed out...
Someone tell me. What does a writer/director have to do to be "as deep as they think they are"? That seems like a pretty scathing thing to say and touches on the themes BC went for in this film. To me, it's probably the most negative statement you can make about a piece of writing.
I enjoyed the film and I have a definite opinion of the ending of the film.
Can you plz explain what happened to James at the end of the movie?
Mia Goth WAS a revelation in Pearl.
“Brandon isn’t as deep as he thinks he is” as if said whilst lying on a car bonnet drinking wine
On point.
I enjoyed it for what it is
Just watched this film and thought it was complete trash. Any vaguely intersting concepts that had to do with the idea of what would seeing your death be like was washed away with an ultimately crude and over the top display of "Look acid trip! Boobs! Grotesque violence!" that only served for shock effect and nothing more. Disturbing for the sake of being disturbing and lacking any real intellect
probably the worst film I've seen this year aside from Antman. Hits some very intriguing concepts, but none of them being explore enough to be consider worth watching.
Sick man.... Cohen brothers...will and cannot be beatin...any movie that requires imagination.....and not cheap sex.... always rules
Challenge: get through a review without saying psychedelia or voyeurism
You're going to get scoliosis if you keep leaning on that bookshelf for hundreds of videos.
I'm on telegraph.. Taylor Rambo
Great review as always :) Mia Goth NEEDS to play Harley Quinn!
How could you have left a message two days ago when this just premiered a few minutes ago today?
@@angelthman1659 probably a patreon member.
@@sagarsaxena6318 That's right, overachiever baby 😎
DeepFocusLens Go back to reviewing more obscure films. I like the ones where you talk about Persona, M, La Strada, 3 Women etc Most contemporary movies are trash. I watched Babylon yesterday and what a big pile of shit.
I was so bored by this movie. Which was the total opposite feeling I had watching TRIANGLE OF SADNESS.
I liked Brandon's take on the whole body horror thing. Infinity pool I thought was better than Crimes of the Future which left me wondering what all the fuss was about?? I think it's just an age issue, Davids earlier movies were more visceral than now and Brandon is just seeing the whole subject through younger eyes. Possessor is better than both. Then again I'm a big Andrea Riseborough fan though.
I hated the movie lol. It had so much potential
It was a very interesting movie up until the arrest, and after that it was all downhill. There are so many areas this movie should have gone but it lazily descended into a drugs, sex, violence fest. Awful waste of talents. What a mess this film is.
Weird movie. Mia goth scares me
Just... just go play SOMA and ignore this movie. It takes the concept in a lot more interesting direction
🙏🙏🙏
😎🙏💯
Hand's down, one of the worst films l have ever seen in my life.
I did not like Infinity Pool. Had high expectations bc of director's lineage, but the satire was too thin; characters too hard to watch; Skarsgard's worst role; and overall conceptually felt very underdeveloped. Cool concept that could've worked, but beyond the initial concept, there wasn't enough development. Didn't work on a horror level, dramatic level, or comedic one so it's hard for me to understand how it ranks so high on RT.
Cute top, Mags.
Why do you sit on the floor next to a couch and a bookcase? Why do you talk about the same movies all the time?
This one was pure garbage. I applied to interview Alexander Skarsgård at the Berlinale last week, but after seeing the film, I was relieved that it was rejected. :) Possessor was bad as well, but this one was truly awful. I think we had enough of David's son. Apparently, not much talent there. The feeble attempts at satire were laughable, and Mia Goth's overacting was embarrassing.
Just admit you’re bitter for getting rejected
@@k.ennethlim Haha, not at all. I wasn't that surprised, and Alexander usually knows what kind of film he is in. He is very down to earth.
@CWS and TKP 66-02 Yes, The Northman was rubbish, as well.
When will you watch a real movie for a change, hah? When? The real cinema, you know? the golden age..helloooo🤦♂️
I guess you're new here.
@@rong2912 It doesn't matter, she never reviews movies from the golden era, and I mean the GOLDEN era, not Kubrick, Scorsese and all that later boring crap
@@EasternRomeOrthodoxy Then why are you here?
@@rong2912 To scold😁
@@EasternRomeOrthodoxy Kubrick and Scorsese are boring crap?