Infinity Pool (2023)

The third feature film from writer-director Brandon Cronenberg, Infinity Pool shows that he can keep finding different ways to explore what seems to be his favourite topic - immortality. There's more to this, and it's different enough from both of his previous films, but it's interesting to see that the pros and cons of potential eternal life seems to be his obsession (perhaps stemming from his personal experience of forging a career with the weighty Cronenberg name attached to him).

Alexander Skarsgård plays James, an unsuccessful author (he wrote one book, some years ago, and hasn't written anything since) on holiday with his rich partner, Em (Cleopatra Coleman). They are staying in an exclusive beach resort, advised not to stray outwith the boundaries of that area, and having a very nice time of it. Things all change when they meet Gabi (Mia Goth) and Alban (Jalil Lespert), a couple who encourage them to be a bit more daring and join them for a day out. A day beyond the resort walls. Heading home, an accident leads to someone dying, which could land them all in very hot water. That's when the central idea of Infinity Pool kicks in. This island has a deal for tourists who can afford it. If you have the money, you can pay for a clone to be executed in your place . . . while you watch. This bizarre experience changes something in James, and he realises that he can live his life without fear of consequences. For a while.

As you may have already noticed, Infinity Pool is a movie that actually sits nicely alongside a few other recent releases that have something to say about the selfishness and entitlement of people who can afford anything they like. It might make for a bizarre triple-bill, but you could easily schedule this alongside both The Menu and Triangle Of Sadness and have a strong thematic strand running through your evening's entertainment. This may be a horror film, and one interspersed with hallucinatory and kaleidoscopic imagery at times, but the biggest horror of it all is watching people devolve so quickly when they realise that they can be as hedonistic and boorish as they like, pitying those around them who haven't tasted the same level of "freedom" from the chains of morality.

Skarsgård is excellent in his role, moving convincingly from a state of calm and passivity to a wrecked mass of raw nerves as things develop (imagine him as a healthy tooth that is then worn down and broken within a short space of time), and it's not saying anything new now to heap a whole lot of praise upon Goth, who plays her part here with sheer glee. Even when raging with anger, Goth's character is confident that she will get whatever she wants by the time everything is sorted out. Coleman has less to do, but it's good that her character remains calm and clear-headed at a time when everyone else is looking to dive into the deep waters of insanity, and Lespert is suave and charming throughout, the slick devil alongside Goth's imp/demon.

While it is all put together well enough, with every aspect, from the score to the practical FX work, supporting the ideas being explored throughout, Infinity Pool, due to the nature of that central conceit, cannot avoid feeling a bit inconsequential. Maybe that is deliberate, maybe it isn’t, but it certainly lacks the impact of Possessor (which remains Brandon Cronenberg’s finest work, to date). There's a strong point being made during the final scene, but any statement is undermined by what ISN'T said/shown. I just wish, ironically, that more people had suffered some real consequences. That isn’t to say it is a bad film though. It’s a good one. In fact, it's a very good film indeed.

8/10

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Possessor (2020)

It must be both a blessing and a curse to be Brandon Cronenberg. On the one hand, your father is the top name in psychologically-intriguing body horror movies. On the other hand, that's a huge shadow to step out from. After making a decent impression with his debut feature, Antiviral (a film many people enjoyed more than I did), Cronenberg looks like he may be about to solidify his reputation among horror fans with Possessor, a dark and bloody movie that is arguably much more horror of the mind than anything to do with the body.

Andrea Riseborough is Vos, an assassin who takes over the bodies of other people, via an implant, in order to get to her victims. When the job is done, Vos gets the unwitting "host" to commit suicide, thus allowing her psyche to return to her body, which is housed in the machinery allowing her connection to the implant. Vos seems to be struggling with her own identity, understandably so, and also has certain attachments to items/people that may be an issue to someone in her line of work. This all comes to a head in her next job, when she's placed inside Colin Tate (Christopher Abbott). Tate isn't as easily controlled as others, but maybe that is partly to do with Vos not necessarily wanting to immediately return to her own body.

The start of Possessor is certainly a sequence that immediately draws in viewers, showing the assassination M.O. of Vos and then adding enough little details for things to be pieced together. And the end of Possessor is quite jaw-dropping. This is a film book-ended by moments that you won't forget, with Cronenberg showing an ability to deliver real shocks that aren't just delivered in a vacuum. The middle section is where things are a bit problematic, with a number of scenes that are surreal and dark, but not as interesting as the more energised moments around them.

Cronenberg has a bit more room to play here, or so it seems, compared to his debut, and he doesn't squander the opportunity. There's a cast that also includes Sean Bean, Tuppence Middleton, and Jennifer Jason Leigh in small roles, and there's a feeling of a more completely-realised movie world here than there was in Antiviral. Dialogue may not always seem to make sense, but a lot of it is loaded with more meaning that becomes obvious on a rewatch.

Riseborough is very good in her role (although I remain convinced that she isn't now able to take on a role without knowing that it satisfies a certain misery quotient). Even while not seen onscreen, her quiet and cold performance, and how the script conveys this, means that you always feel her presence. Abbott is equally good, and in mostly the same way. He may be onscreen a lot more than Riseborough, but he's portraying someone not always in control of his own actions or thoughts. Everyone else already mentioned does good work, but it's Riseborough and Abbot who own the movie.

I rate this very highly, despite my problems with the middle act. That's how effective the rest of the film is, and how unique it feels. I've not seen anything that caused me to react so strongly in a long time, and a film that can manage that deserves a fair amount of credit.

8/10

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Mubi Monday: Antiviral (2012)

Directed by Brandon "son of David" Cronenberg, Antiviral is a debut feature that feels very much like something his father would have done back in his early years. There is, however, a lack of the wit and intelligence, and even frame composition, that Cronenberg Senior would have laced throughout, but it's not a bad first full-length film.

Caleb Landry Jones stars as Syd March, a young man who works in a strange, thriving, industry. He sells illnesses to people. Those illnesses are harvested from celebrities and the people wanting to buy them are obsessed fans. To make himself some extra money, Syd smuggles diseases out in his own body, making use of a work device that he has stashed in his home. It's an obviously flawed system, and nobody should be surprised when Syd starts to become more and more unwell.

Cronenberg is working with his own screenplay here, and you can also feel the clear influence from his father in the plotting and main ideas. The illnesses are commodities, but they can also be weaponised, and can lead to those infected with them having strange hallucinatory moments. With Syd a pawn who cannot see the big picture around him, there are many moments here that feel bastardised from Videodrome. It's just that instead of seeking out more extreme content, these people are warped by "celebrity culture" (pun intended).

Jones is very good in the main role, carrying most of the movie even as he grows weaker and looks ready to shuffle off the mortal coil at any moment. There are many other characters who pop up throughout the film but the focus stays on Syd, what he can do for them and how valuable he can be, which allows Jones to stay front and centre at all times, even when he's being given a lot of exposition by Malcolm McDowell. Joe Pingue and James Cade both do well, playing a creator of celebrity foods and a virus "pirate", respectively, and Sarah Gadon portrays one of the most sought-after celebrities on the market.

The look of the film is often, as you would expect, sleek and sterile. If you're going to see blood coughed up then it may as well spatter against a pure white surface, right? But the work environment is juxtaposed against some living conditions that are much less sleek and stylish. They're not exactly squalid but it's easy to see that employees certainly don't get to reap the rewards from the business that the management do.

Although it's a bit of a mess at times, losing focus and building towards an ending that doesn't feel worthy of everything we've gone through, Antiviral shows a lot of promise. Cronenberg can be forgiven, more than most, for being a bit too heavily influenced by his father. And, hey, there are far worse directors out there to be influenced by.

5/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy it here.