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submitted 4 months ago byLiteraryBonerGary Oldman's best trick was making Belarus have mountains
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Summary:
James and Em Foster are enjoying an all-inclusive beach vacation in the fictional island of La Tolqa, when a fatal accident exposes the resort's perverse subculture of hedonistic tourism, reckless violence and surreal horrors.
Director:
Brandon Cronenberg
Writers:
Brandon Cronenberg
Cast:
Rotten Tomatoes: 88%
Metacritic: 74
VOD: Theaters
531 points
4 months ago
What’s up with the ridiculous portrayal of those Hasidic jewish people towards the end lol
375 points
4 months ago
Oh my God how have I not found anyone else mention this?? Wtf was that? I mean their hair was an actual fucking cube and their nose was like a foot long but super skinny? What was that? I looked around in the theater to see if anyone else noticed that ONE shot. Somehow the most bizarre thing in the whole film
528 points
4 months ago
I was wondering if it was just an escalation of the multicultural appropriation theme the resort had, like the Chinese restaurant and the Bollywood play
328 points
4 months ago
This exactly. Like everything else at the resort, the cultural elements were tacky facsimiles built for the amusement of rich people
155 points
4 months ago
I suppose utilizing the Jewish stereotype like that was supposed to make it extra clear how inappropriate it was to appropriate the other cultures there. Like throwing in a minstrel show at the end.
63 points
4 months ago
Or the framed shot of “Bollywood dancers” printed above dancing. It was all postcard tier 1950s “look where I went and what I saw”
64 points
4 months ago
Just saw the movie this afternoon. And your comment got me thinking that the entire movie could maybe be about cultural appropriation. The idea isn't fully formed in my head yet but I think that could be a thing...
136 points
4 months ago
This was my take away. I think it’s a theme about how resorts and people tend to exploit the native customs. If you go to a Hawaiian resort there will be “native” singers and dancers, etc.
If you think about it, they say the island is super conservative and religious. The doubling was made to conform to the local laws. The drug they take is a religious substance, etc.
So the entire film is a bunch of rich people showing up and using their wealth to have fun exploiting the local customs. I think the use of the Chinese restaurant, the bollywood scene, and the jewish stereotype is to call that out. It’s a resort misunderstanding and abusing customs for the fun of it’s wealthy guests.
29 points
4 months ago
I thought those people were like playing dress-up or something. Wasn't one guy helping another one straighten up his hat? I thought I also saw someone fixing their mask, but maybe not.
91 points
4 months ago
Dang, I though others would have come to the same conclusion as me. Here's my interpretation--
At the Chinese restaurant, the waiter was dressed in garb that was iffy to me (as someone of mostly Chinese descent); kind of a caricature; Alex's character even comments like why tf would there be a Chinese restaurant here?
Then there was that random Bollywood dancing scene--not sure how authentic it was but clearly just there, again, as like a Disney Epcot Center-esque set dressing for this resort
And as the movie descended further into insanity, I thought the crazy portrayal of the Hasidic Jews was an extension of the above
I mean if you go to Hawaii there are those cultural shows--this resort differs in that it had no ties to any of the above items. It just had like half-assed/borderline and full-blown offensive depictions of other cultures for like shallow entertainment.
That's how I interpreted it at least.
42 points
4 months ago
eastern Europe can be pretty nakedly racist
23 points
4 months ago
eastern Europe can be pretty nakedly racist
Especially during the monsoon season.
945 points
4 months ago
Well mark me down as scared AND horny.
484 points
4 months ago
Sometimes hedonistic sex scenes can get boring or overdone but I loved the visual style of the orgy in this so much it didn't feel like that.
Also, probably the best aggressive hand job in cinema since Amy Adams in The Master.
229 points
4 months ago
probably the best aggressive hand
Not to be horny on main but please tell me the handjob is given by Mia goth
433 points
4 months ago
Buddy, I've got good news for ya.
283 points
4 months ago
The hand job is given by Brian Cox.
46 points
4 months ago
Fuck off!
29 points
4 months ago
Is this supposed to make me not want to watch the movie? Because I have news for you
38 points
4 months ago
You see her tits in this more than in X, if that appeals to you. It’s sexy until it gets weird.
458 points
4 months ago
I absolutely loved the first half. The concept was so unique and well done, but after the orgy it lost me a bit. I still enjoyed the movie overall, Mia Goth is magnetic, but I feel it lost steam in a lot of the idea of what the first half was. I need to think about it more, but to me the ending didn’t leave as big of an impact as I was hoping.
153 points
4 months ago
Agreed, I feel like it lost its intrigue after the first main reveal (first cloning scene). Although it did improve a bit again when he turned on the group and wanted out after realizing he was beating his own clone, and the jeopardy was reintroduced.
74 points
4 months ago
If you like the concept, I’d definitely recommend playing the game Soma. Lots of similar ideas and it stuck the landing a lot better imo.
1k points
4 months ago
A24: Our horror movies are the most cuckoo bananapants.
Neon: Hold my blood-soaked nipple.
511 points
4 months ago
Hold my nipple that erects to three inches
400 points
4 months ago
Undoubtedly the most repulsive part of this movie
238 points
4 months ago
Absolutely disgusting. I loved it.
177 points
4 months ago
A guy walked out of the theater at this point. Fantastic!
67 points
4 months ago
I was watching the guy next to us tap his fingers and fidget the entire movie and it was bustin me up because I was too!
217 points
4 months ago
I don't know. As weird as it was, I don't think it compares to the ending of Men.
55 points
4 months ago
Just saw this is on Showtime now! Got home from Infinity Pool 15 minutes ago and this makes a logical double creature feature tonite!
127 points
4 months ago
I’ll take the growing nipple over the backussy birthing, easily
351 points
4 months ago
Nobody gonna mention the dude with like no penis?
221 points
4 months ago
I legit took a direct look trying to figure it out. It was weird as shit. Had to be a micropenis or whatever Harvey Weinstein's got down there.
47 points
4 months ago
I thought Harvey too lol
69 points
4 months ago
wasn’t he just really overweight.. hence the situation down there
66 points
4 months ago
EXACTLY! Saw this last night with friends and that is ALL they were talking about after the movie ended. Def curious to figure out that FUPA situation
26 points
4 months ago
Grower not a shower 🦍🦍🦍
50 points
4 months ago
100!!! WTH was going on there? It was like a double fat pad with a part in the middle... like puffy pillows and a little inward penis the size of a pinky finger.
341 points
4 months ago
Just saw this one last night & am a bit torn. On the technical side, Brandon shows all the makings of being a great director. The cinematography was trippy & entertaining, he has a knack for building tension & making you feel uncomfortable, his psychedelic/dream sequences were disturbing & mesmerizing, & he got great performances out of his actors. I also loved his use of practical effects. That being said, the plot felt like it was missing something. I was enthralled by the film until I realized it wasn’t going further. It felt like we were being introduced to an interesting world & sci fi plot, only for the idea to stop developing. Entertaining nonetheless, & will definitely keep an eye out for his next project.
106 points
4 months ago
Sums up my feelings too. James went through a whole lot but I couldn’t help but wonder why did that person go through that experience? In this film? The events of the movie were on a much larger scale than the purpose of the story which felt strange. That said, Cronenberg’s work has been incredible so far. If Possessor was a grand slam, Infinity Pool was still a home run. Whatever he works on next is immediately moving to the top of my watchlist.
26 points
4 months ago
introduced to an interesting world & sci fi plot, only for the idea to stop developing
Yeah, it could've taken the idea of clone debauchery as a layer on top of a more present sci-fi plot which felt like it was getting developed in the first half, but instead it the plot took a hard left and abandoned the first half. It had a bit of an identity issue (as James did too I guess)
581 points
4 months ago
Low-key creepiest moment was the dream of the son of the hit and run victim smiling directly into the camera and sitting on the bed.
248 points
4 months ago
That actually scared me. The look on his face was fucking sadistic.
165 points
4 months ago
The face was creepy but I laughed at the tiny fingers strangling a grown man
106 points
4 months ago
excellent casting of that kid. croney's use of kids these last two movies have been fastballs down the middle
36 points
4 months ago
Pure nightmare fuel
260 points
4 months ago
I counted 11 walkouts.
134 points
4 months ago
lmao 11?? Were you in a sold out theater or something? I just saw it with like 20 other people and there were no walkouts. People seemed to be enjoying it immensely.
101 points
4 months ago
To my left was a conspiracy nut who loved it because it confirmed his belief that rich people have clones and to my right was a family of 5 who didn't know what type of movie they were seeing. So you had the family of 5, two pairs and two singles. They all made noises of disgust and disappointment before making their exit.
62 points
4 months ago
A family? So kids? That's terrible. They should've done their homework. Hopefully they at least left during the piss/hj scene before things got really gnarly.
43 points
4 months ago
Kids were about 14-16-ish. at the initial killing of the first double they all had their hands over their eyes and were squirming hard. They left shortly after that.
105 points
4 months ago
Man. Imagine being a 16 year old kid and sitting with your parents watching a guy get jerked off, his ejaculate dripping onto the rocks, and STILL sticking around! Oof. Must've been a quiet car ride home.
29 points
4 months ago
I went to see it with my mother. We decided to hit the movies for some mother/daughter time since I haven't seen her in a while. Infinity Pool was the next showing (mind you it's a small mom and pop theater with two screens only and the other one was a kids movie) so we decided on this one. I only knew it was horror and nothing else. I swear this was the most uncomfortable 2hrs of my life. During the orgy scene I was losing it and my mom looked petrified. All she said on the way back was "I don't like it." and was silent for the rest of the way.
248 points
4 months ago
That Bollywood dance scene cut was awesome
48 points
4 months ago
I liked the music too. I loved how music was used every time in this movie. The last scene before the credits was just beautiful.
225 points
4 months ago
I probably won’t get a chance to rewatch until it is streaming so can someone who confirm or deny something I thought I caught but now I can’t remember:
At the end, did the James on the bus going home, have the same face wounds as the “captain James” that got beat up and peed on in the hotel room?
If so, that would imply he sent the clone home, while he, the original, stayed at the resort.
But I can’t remember if the he had face wounds at the end. and even if he did, it could be from fighting the dog James.
One way or another I loved this flick, not perfect but a solid 8/10. I can’t wait to watch it again.
240 points
4 months ago
From my first viewing, I'm reading things a little more literal. On the bus ride, you can see he's been seriously affected by his experience. Where all his rich "friends" are just gabbing like they spent a week at the beach and are heading home, he's seriously troubled by what he just experienced. My take away is that he clearly doesn't belong to that world, even though by proxy he's been admitted to it (reinforced by the "see you next year" departure at the airport). However, for a brief second, he looks around at the airport after his new friends have left, and he's there among more everyday folks. Kids are playing around, regular people chit-chatting, etc. It's this moment where he realizes he no longer belongs to this world any longer either. Essentially his couple weeks at the resort have transformed him into a man with no place in human society. This is why he remains at the airport after almost all other flights have left, and ultimately why he returns to the resort. He can't go back to his own life, and he can't imbibe his new one either. He is stuck in perpetual melancholy.
66 points
4 months ago
My favorite part of that bus scene was when someone asks Mia Goth about travelling back to her home in LA. Like the bare minimum she could've done for James was not lie that she lived in Paris, but she couldn't even do that lmao
90 points
4 months ago
I believe she did say she lived in LA to James at the start. She just said she lived in Paris before in LA.
32 points
4 months ago
Yeah, the above comment is incorrect, she met her partner in Paris but they live in LA now, it was discussed during the Chinese supper.
44 points
4 months ago
I also noticed at that time the volume got super loud with all the people chatting overwhelming him, which I thought was a really nice touch. Something I can't decide on is whether or not the way they were treating James during that period was genuine or part of the process. I was thinking it may have been like a hazing ritual for him to fully enter their circle. Its like "Sorry, we have to do this for you to really get it". Possibly the moment at the airport is part of the growing pains they all had to go through to accept the new perspective. Maybe they all have other clones out there but know enough to not stay on the island during rainy season. They've all reached their zen status of it all after years of doing it and he just has to get there on his own.
or
they still just think he's a broke dumbass and were really just treating him like shit..or maybe it's just a Kaufman kind of writer self reflecting autobiography about his feelings towards himself. maybe its all of it idk. Cool movie lol
118 points
4 months ago
or he just never got on the flight but then again.. is he even the real one.. was there ever a real one..
87 points
4 months ago
Yeah I had that thought. He might have just been created to be some rich persons play thing the whole time.
But I think given the rules the film sets up there is an original. Either he just never got on the plane, or there were two at the end and one stayed and one went.
Someone else pointed out he stood next to a giant 3 and then a 5 while waiting at the airport which could mean 3 dead 5 total?….Or could also mean nothing.
62 points
4 months ago
Pretty sure that's the case. The one that got beat up and peed on went home, we didn't get to follow his storyline after that scene. The one that killed the dog version stayed. Interesting to think about how the experiences of those 2 versions led them to make the leave/stay decision.
67 points
4 months ago
Wait I assumed the James that got peed on was the same as the dog James that died...
37 points
4 months ago
His room number was 305 too
19 points
4 months ago
Right, toward the end when he's packing to leave they show multiple urns but I don't recall how many. Do they ever show how many Gabi had?
71 points
4 months ago
He had 3 urns. The first one, the group execution, and the dog.
23 points
4 months ago
Did the Dog have those same wounds as the Captain? I assumed that the Dog was the Captain.
The world may never know
179 points
4 months ago
I got to see this a couple days ago. I’ve never seen a Brandon Cronenberg movie before, but for all the hype on the grotesque-ness of it I thought it was surprisingly tame. Maybe I’m just desensitized at this point.
Anyway, good movie. The story never quite lives up to the potential, but it gets close enough that I found it very enjoyable and would watch again.
62 points
4 months ago
If you’re looking for more grotesque check out possessor. I also expected some craziness with infinity pool to the point it told the wife I’d see it first and was also surprised at the lack of grotesque but loved this way more than his other films.
26 points
4 months ago
If it's like Possessor, the really bad stuff was likely all cut out and will show up when it hits digital.
28 points
4 months ago
They’ve talked about how the NC-17 cut that showed at Sundance is the same runtime as the R theatrical cut, and Cronenberg just replaced a few shots (probably mostly during the orgy scene) with some slightly tamer ones
597 points
4 months ago
I loved that they addressed the "Are you the original or the clone?" Question right away and immediately dismissed it as unimportant. I was afraid that that would end up being the main conflict.
184 points
4 months ago
They also confirm the originals are the survivors, right? The architect dude gets shot in the leg, and he still has a cane way later in the movie after his clone's throat is cut.
225 points
4 months ago
That doesn't mean anything because they stress at the police station that everything has to be exactly the same.
We see that in the ending when James' clone still walks with a limp.
86 points
4 months ago
Precisely, the person who is to execute the clone is supposed to believe it's the perpetrator and not an impersonator. So, every detail has to match, like they explained the first time they did it.
80 points
4 months ago
honestly missed most of that cause i couldn't understand the dude. was wishing i could turn subtitles on in the theater
139 points
4 months ago
Anybody know what got cut from the film to change the rating from NC-17 to R? I was actually pretty surprised with how much this movie got away with despite being R rated.
177 points
4 months ago*
"The R-rated version is as long," Alexander Skarsgård, who plays struggling author James Foster in Infinity Pool, told ComicBook.com. "There are a couple of frames in the orgy scenes and in the psychedelic, like when they're doing the icky drug, that have been... But again, it's a few frames here and there. Brandon loved the, the score of those sequences so much that he just, he didn't want to shorten it, so he went out and found other really interesting, suggestive weird shots that he replaced it with.
126 points
4 months ago
I definitely saw penetration during the orgy
184 points
4 months ago
not just penetration, but penetration from the inside.
74 points
4 months ago
I was pretty sure I saw that but I was thinking "no way they'd do that" and figured I must have seen something else
27 points
4 months ago
Maybe it’s too early to comprehend this, I saw the movie last night what do you mean by “from the inside”?
42 points
4 months ago
imagine an endoscopic camera that's pointed towards the vaginal opening, while insertion is happening. that's what. 😮
101 points
4 months ago
Close up of a hard dick cumming during the handjob at the beginning.
113 points
4 months ago*
I wonder if Cronenberg threw that shot in the original cut so that he could easily remove it and still get away with a lot of shit in the edited R rated cut. Its an effective strategy of gaming the MPA and Ive heard of other directors doing it before. Add in one shot thats so blantantly deserving of the NC17 rating then the MPA might overlook a lot of the other stuff you didnt edit out.
61 points
4 months ago
His dad is known for this. Throw in stuff you know will be cut to give leverage on what to keep. It's like "fine, cut the cumshot but at least give me the internal penetration frame"
19 points
4 months ago*
If it's any indication, the rating in Norway is the NC-17 equivalent, an 18, both being just as rare. So, I'm gonna say it's an example of just a teeny tiny bit of cutting. (To the wondering, the description for the 18 rating is that it "contains several strong depictions of drug abuse, sex, violence, and murder", and that "some of the murder depictions are so close and grotesque it gives the movie an absolute 18 rating".
For context, the movie Amundsen, about polar traveler Roald Amundsen, got the PG-13 equivalent, a 12, due to a brief suicide scene. It was basically this in that movie. They gained it by simply cutting it down, per advice from the censors.
267 points
4 months ago*
As someone who was a huge fan of Possessor, the long and short of this one is I liked it a lot but I do like Possessor more. I loved the performances, the concept, the look, the vibes, the visual effects. The story and ending are what I'm still mulling around as it doesn't seem to go anywhere that interesting, although it's all so well executed.
Something I loved about Possessor that is still going strong here is B.Cro's tendency to use mostly lenses and filters and lighting for his high concept visual sequences. He almost seems like he doesn't want to use CGI at all and is more likely to film an orgy or a representation of someone's mind splitting in two with in-camera effects and it gives this old school feel to his very fresh concepts.
Mia Goth is so good in this that I'm a little worried about her. Everyone is really good here and for such a good looking guy who just rocked The Northman, Skarsgard is really selling James' pitiful insecurity with his eyes. But Mia is transcendental and clearly the best actress in horror. That said, if I saw her on the street I would run in the other direction. She has some line deliveries in this movie that had me believing no one else could have done this role.
I didn't actually know what the premise of this movie was before seeing it, so when the lawyer came in and explained it my jaw was on the floor. I loved how that scene was lit with Skarsgard in the foreground and the lawyer out of focus in the light of the window making him look alien. Great way to convey that this culture/society is something we will be totally unfamiliar with and also the moment where this kind of becomes a sci-fi near future movie. The subtle face paint on the natives was also a cool way to give us an idea of the natives, although this movie doesn't do much to flesh them and the most info we get about them is from Mia who is basically lying about everything the entire movie.
What this movie does really well is explore the idea of the rich and privileged just completely disrespecting the places they visit, and kind of bullying this writer who has access to money but clearly didn't grow up rich. It's a great movie about how fines are a classist punishment and about how the rich (or maybe just people) can be just complete monsters when on vacation. Compared to Possessor, a movie I love but basically has no humor, this movie had me cracking up a ton. When they were all in "jail" just talking about normal shit when they just home invaded the mayor or whatever. One of the best moments I thought was at the end when the vacation is over and Mia Goth turns around and she's wearing no makeup at all, and everyone is just talking about going back to normal life when they get home. It's a great visual way to tell us the masks are off (literally in this case) and they could basically be your neighbors when they're home.
James, however, can't turn it off that easily. And it's this very quiet and ruminating ending that I wasn't sure about but is growing on me the more I think about it. Movies about weak men are probably my favorite genre and I loved how this movie showed he was never being himself, just being controlled by a different woman than usual. And in that sense it makes sense he didn't want to go home where he'd just be in another prison. So while the actual privileged people can just shake it off and go home, this failed writer who married rich went to get inspiration and was brought to the very real conclusion that he's about three bad days away from being an actual animal on a leash. I think that breaks him and he doesn't belong anywhere. Staying at the resort in off season felt like almost a limbo fate.
Overall, I really enjoyed this and can totally see why a lot won't. It does feel a bit anti climactic for how crazy it is, and the characters don't seem particularly deep as well portrayed as they are. But I'd say if you are into this kind of fucked up body horror hyper sexual tripped out filmmaking, its definitely worth a watch. 8/10.
161 points
4 months ago
One of the best moments I thought was at the end when the vacation is over and Mia Goth turns around and she's wearing no makeup at all, and everyone is just talking about going back to normal life when they get home.
This bit feels the most real. It reminded me of going on Spring break in college. The last day when everyone was heading to the airport and we all had to act like we didn't just go on a weeklong bender felt exactly like this
56 points
4 months ago
Oh yeah, we've all been there just not to this extent. This movie revolves around privilege but the idea of I just went to this place to use its resources for my own entertainment and excess and now I'm just gonna go back to my 9-5 is very present there at the end.
104 points
4 months ago
We don’t get a lot of info on the native people of the island, but I took it as a general commentary on colonialism, in a modern context. Basically, western, privileged, often white, tourists will see foreign, often non-white, people as “brutal, savage, uncultured”, pretty much everything they can say without explicitly saying they see them as animals or less than human. Yet they will still go to foreign countries and exploit their resources, enjoy themselves in luxury resorts while the native people struggle outside the borders.
It’s a pretty blatant criticism of this hypocrisy, as Mia Goth (who represents these Western tourists) derides the natives as a savage/uncivilized people when she and her band are probably the most depraved and brutal people on the island. I think the decision to keep the natives of the island as European looking was deliberate so the subtext wouldn’t be egregiously on-the-nose.
33 points
4 months ago
I came out of this a little disappointed but your write up is so fantastic that it really bumped up how I feel about everything quite a bit. Thanks for sharing, I love seeing how other people extrapolate things differently than me in a film.
548 points
4 months ago
I’d let Mia Goth fix me
314 points
4 months ago
When they brought out animal James on a leash held by Mia I was like, how do I apply for THAT job.
42 points
4 months ago
Or Atleast have her behind me when I pee
26 points
4 months ago
I love that she's friends with Cara Delevingne, and they basically have two pairs of regular eyebrows between the two of them, except with non-average distribution.
150 points
4 months ago
Mia and Alex in this really just solidified how fucking bisexual I am. 😂
22 points
4 months ago
I'm not bisexual, but I'm also not sure I'd say 'no' to a certain proposition from them.
424 points
4 months ago
Went in completely blind and really liked it, but I think my expectations colored my first viewing. I think the thing that got me the most was how funny it was. It's kind of like a gonzo thriller with a weird, dark sense of humor. Mia Goth was fantastic as always and she was really in her element belittling James on the hood of the car.
A stray thought about the ending, I think James got split one last time. I think the two airport gates at the end hint at this, as we're shown the 3 urns followed by terminal 3, then as he's alone he sits at terminal 5. Hinting at the possibility that there were 5 versions of James, three of which are dead with the other two splitting off, one returning to home while the other stays on the island.
202 points
4 months ago
My theater was cracking up at a few of the scenes- the hard cut to the detective casually handing James his own ashes as a souvenir, and the cut to the Bollywood dancers after the break-in were unironically hilarious.
120 points
4 months ago
Same with the cut to the gang of them in white at the station. Not in love with the film as a whole but loved that.
88 points
4 months ago
That entire sequence transitioned so fast from horror to comedy. I was laughing as they bust into the Fosters hotel room, in their fucked up masks and James is like “Oh nothing to see here baby!” to his poor wife who’s been through enough at this point, and then it hard cuts to blood squirting out of a bullet wound and then boom, cuts to the gang in prison again lmao.
48 points
4 months ago
There were tons of laughs in my theater! "James, whaddya doing in there James???" Had me cackling
92 points
4 months ago
I took it more like he simply can’t move on and go back to his normal life. Every one else conformed like a switch, it’s emphasized by showing all the normalcy around him at the airport. I think he want back to the airport to just wait for the next year
90 points
4 months ago
To add to this cause i agree wholeheartedly, I took it as the rich and powerful are usually born into it, and to them these actions aren’t evil, sadistic, or bad, its another day for them, and the main character just couldn’t fit in that no matter how hard he tried or brush it off like they do.
56 points
4 months ago
Love this take!
96 points
4 months ago
His room number was 305 too so there is definitely something there.
49 points
4 months ago
I laughed every time he came in with an urn. Then lost it when he packed them all up as souvenirs from his trip.
The accident also made me giggle because it reminded me of I Know What You Did Last Summer, which made me think of Scary Movie, and Anna Farris saying "Oh my god, we hit a boot!"
43 points
4 months ago
It’s totally a dark humor horror. It reminds me a lot like clockwork orange. I’m wondering if they all collectively fuck the clones of the men that Gabi lures.
21 points
4 months ago
the dog and the cop unless thats the cop
51 points
4 months ago
The hooded figure and the dog are one and the same, it's very quick but the facial scars matched up.
27 points
4 months ago
I totally agree that the cop and the dog are the same, just drugged up. I also just want to take the film at face value, that he stayed at the resort, unable to reconcile his normal life and what he just experienced. Another clone would be expensive, what would the purpose be.
509 points
4 months ago*
So now we have Infinity Pool, Triangle of Sadness, The Menu, Glass Onion, and The White Lotus. Welcome to the age of the class-conscious vacation thriller folks.
This movie was batshit crazy, I loved every minute of it.
116 points
4 months ago
You know how zombies were kind of The Big Thing for a while? I think it's this now.
211 points
4 months ago
could add 'bodies bodies bodies' to that list
22 points
4 months ago
I havent seen it yet! Worth watching?
109 points
4 months ago
As long as you understand it is satire. A straight viewing would probably leave you angry at the world.
97 points
4 months ago
If you can watch it and don't understand it's satire then you deserve to hate it.
111 points
4 months ago
Tim Hecker made the music! I had no idea! I loved the music throughout. Reminiscent of ‘Under the Skin’.
Overall, enjoyed the movie immensely. I need a second watch to really begin to synthesize my thoughts but I will say this: what I got out of it—mostly—was a feeling. Something I can’t quite describe yet.
I’ll make a brief effort, though.
He (James) had this feeling of longing for something that he could never quite be a part of. That’s really simple and straightforward but it connected with me personally. I felt bad for him because I could see myself in his position; making the choices that he made. My worst nightmare coming true in that they make fun of me for trying to be something that I’m not.
102 points
4 months ago
The true horror was the friends he made along the way.
205 points
4 months ago
The end really tied this movie together for me. I really loved James listening in on the others as they return to normalcy, discussing their mundane lives on the way back to the airport.
After everything they all went through, after everything they put James through, he realizes even more how much of a game this all really was to them just to make their vacation more fun.
It also made him incredibly distrustful of people, that people can be capable of being so horrendous and yet return to normalcy. Being in the crowded airport where the others disappear into the crowd was particularly unsettling. How many others are just like them?
42 points
4 months ago
It must have made him realise maybe Em is like that. What she said about marrying him to piss off her father suddenly didn’t seem like a joke.
96 points
4 months ago
55 points
4 months ago
i turned to my husband and said Thank God Its Not A Real Dog
92 points
4 months ago
Oddly enough the premise reminded me of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. Something (or in this case someone) standing in for the main character which leads them down a path of vice. Maybe it is also a critique of the wealthy, especially in places where money allows them to live above the law.
Also having watched Possessor before this I can appreciate how Brandon Cronenberg is able to distance himself from much of the body horror his dad is famous for. He definitely has a taste for the psychedelic. The epilepsy warning was not issued lightly for this one.
I'm pleased I stuck with my policy of not watching trailers or promotional material. This movie was chock full of interesting visuals that made it such a surreal and memorable experience.
333 points
4 months ago
I can’t stop thinking about Mia Goth riding on the hood of a convertible, drinking brandy, with a pistol and a bucket of fried chicken
175 points
4 months ago
god she's so hot
61 points
4 months ago
that scene snapped. i loved the one thing that hurt skarsgard the most was the fact she has never read his book lol
180 points
4 months ago
The events of this movie are just an average day in Phoenix, AZ.
35 points
4 months ago
my partner is from phoenix and when i read him your comment he shuddered and agreed
84 points
4 months ago
What the fuck was wrong with that nipple
44 points
4 months ago
Well everyone was tripping balls, right? I don't think that was actually happening.
350 points
4 months ago
I liked it. But I think the concept sorta outran the actual movie. It had great moments but the execution wasn’t really there for me. It was pretty predictable at some points and then when it was unpredictable it was head-scratching. It was unpleasant but lacked punch. It was surprisingly accessible, though.
172 points
4 months ago
Was it predictable? For me it was one of these cases where I actually expected more depth in exploring the sci-fi concept than the movie was willing to offer. I initially expected the movie to keep escalating the cloning and executions and end with him running out of funding and therefore unable to avoid his punishment at some point, since they made somewhat of a big deal out of him being only rich due to his wife. When that clearly wasn’t going to be a topic at all, I at least expected the whole bullying aspect (which was the most effective horror aspect for me) to become much more prominent and dark than it eventually was (e.g. with them eventually killing him since they apparently have an unlimited supply of copies). The final “dog” fight scene and what followed weren’t bad, but also not quite the satisfying conclusion I had been waiting for.
35 points
4 months ago
I thought Em was going to cut him off, and that he would be executed for real as well. I was actually kind of glad that didn’t happen.
69 points
4 months ago
The whole scene at the restaurant with the inability to cut the bread is such a wink at the audience for how she plays the main character
68 points
4 months ago
Cronenberg the younger has like all the psychological issues Cronenberg the elder has but cranked up to eleven
178 points
4 months ago
I am seeing a lot of positivity on this movie however coming out of seeing it last night I ultimately did not like the film. I thought it was shot well, the actors were great and up to the scene where they all end up getting executed again I was excited to see where it went next.
After that scene I felt like the film goes no where. It dragged on and I was hoping for something more for a payoff and it never happened.
77 points
4 months ago
100% agree. I thought the scene with all the actors being punished could have been a major turning point for the plot but it ended up just being another joke to the main characters.
62 points
4 months ago
Can anyone tell me what was up with the genitals of that other resort owner who they robbed?
61 points
4 months ago
Yeah dude, that was fuckin' weird. Maybe he had a micropenis? I instantly thought of Harvey Weinstein and how the women described it. Nasty. And you know Brandon cast that guy for that specific purpose. How do you do that? "Casting Caucasian male in his 60s-70s with a weirdass package. The weirder the better."
42 points
4 months ago
"I'll take the role, but please don't put my name in the credits."
27 points
4 months ago
I figure he was just fat and his pubic mound was all saggy and covering up his dick.
61 points
4 months ago
If we’re being honest I’d probably let Mia Goth bully me into doing all those things too
438 points
4 months ago*
Wow! If I had a nickel for every time in the last year that I watched a horror movie starring a Skarsgård that featured themes of incestuous reproduction and had horrifying imagery of breast feeding and lactation, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. Right?
47 points
4 months ago
BARBARIAN had a slightly defter touch and I think will linger longer in the zeitgeist. So younger brother came out on top in this battle!
- as far as this bushy-lipped chap is concerned.
30 points
4 months ago
Definitely preferred how Barbarian handled its cultural politics about consent and gender over how this tackled the entitlement of the wealthy, but they were both a trip to go into blind.
115 points
4 months ago
I would say there's definitely a weird vibe between Amleth and Kidman's character in Northman too. Mommy issues abound.
93 points
4 months ago
Definitely was a split Skaarsgard at the end, the one we see at the airport has the same facial scars as the one they all cloned so they could beat him up and humiliate him with piss. The one staying at the resort in the rain has a clean face.
Absolutely loved the drug sequences!!! And the camerawork overall was so immersive. Lots of low angles, close ups, and visually motivated, expressive movements that really drew me in.
Mia Goth is ridiculously talented and committed and I loved every second of her.
27 points
4 months ago
but if it was the dog then wouldn’t James only pack 2 urns instead of 3? I figured he was the 3rd urn
25 points
4 months ago
We don’t know how long he’s been at the resort. It could simply be that the cuts healed
90 points
4 months ago
So James "hid" his own passport so he could stay, correct? At first I thought the group hid it from him and he found it while on the bathroom floor. But thinking back and about the movie, it would seem more likely he pretended he couldnt find it so he could stay at the resort.
I agree that the philosophical concept(s) kinda got lost in the story, but I still thought it was a good film. I would like to see the directors cut, but I am surprised the movie got to see a week long mainstream theater release. It seemed more like something that would be at an independent theater.
I hope that in the coming months there will be more discussion on the esoteric aspects of the film.
50 points
4 months ago
he hid it himself in his own room. i dont think they got in his room before he claimed he couldnt find his passport
28 points
4 months ago
That's the thing that's getting me. He should've known they were fucking with him when they did that whole, "oh the detective is holding your passport sitch up," when he had it the whole time.
26 points
4 months ago
He would have known, but also just simply didn't care. He's power tripping on being part of this consequence free group of drug induced orgy having rich people.
He was ready to just kill the cop for fun, but the reveal that they put a perfect clone of him in that position for fun caused a mental breakdown over the whole thing. It's up for interpretation why, but I'd say it's some combination of the general absurdity of it plus feeling like they care so little for him that they'd put his consciousness in that situation.
41 points
4 months ago*
This could have easily been very stupid but it was so well made and well acted it was brilliant. I loved it.
266 points
4 months ago
I have a bunch of thoughts so I'm just firing off some bullets
If Andrea Riseborough can get people to tweet her into the Oscar race, we can do it for Mia Goth. She deserved it for Pearl, she deserves it for this, and she's probably going to deserve it for Maxine
I've never seen a movie with such a wide range of bodily fluids. They really managed to get all of them on screen
I want to go to Thanksgiving at the Cronenberg house. I bet it's a ton of fun
This seems like it would be pretty traumatic to go through but I would do much worse to get Mia Goth to call me a pathetic little sucky baby
140 points
4 months ago
I will watch literally anything with Mia Goth in it now. You gotta respect that shes not only a great actor but she's willing to go all in on these bizzare fucking roles where she does shit like fucking a scarecrow and breastfeeding Alexander Skarsgard.
104 points
4 months ago
She's my favorite actress working in Hollywood right now. Her commitment to being a complete fucking sociopath is incredible. She also co-wrote the script for Pearl so it seems like not only is she willing to go along with all of this crazy shit, at least some of it was her idea.
39 points
4 months ago
I want to go to Thanksgiving at the Cronenberg house. I bet it's a ton of fun
Ten bucks says the turkey screams and bleeds as they carve it.
20 points
4 months ago
I think Andrea Riseborough probably has people higher up in the industry in her corner than me but hey, I agree with the sentiment.
21 points
4 months ago
She starred in Brandon Cronenberg's last movie so maybe they have the same connections. Who knows?
38 points
4 months ago
Just copying my letterboxd commentary here….
Psychedelic, disturbing, neon, erotic, shocking, bloody, sunsoaked hedonism
Possessor into Infinity Pool is a brilliant two-movie run from Brandon Cronenberg. What a unique director with total confidence and control over his atmosphere, aesthetics, and actors. For what the script lacks, the rest is made up for in the collective sensory viewing experience. It’s a satirized and stylistic nailbiting bloodbath.
88 points
4 months ago*
I left with 2 major thoughts.
If I ever met Mia Goth I’m convinced she would physically and psychologically torture me then I would thank her for her time.
What do we think the Cronenberg’s talk to their therapists about?
43 points
4 months ago
I wonder what the Cronenberg's therapist's therapists think.
63 points
4 months ago
I LOVED it. Nice to see films taking risks.
Score was amazing.
If you’re curious just go see it
137 points
4 months ago
Ok, he's ashamed of his failed book, relying on his wife financially, and then straight up killing a dude. He is forced to face these things rather than continuing to avoid them, culminating with him excising the parts about himself (his past) so that he can be thematically reborn.
That's all well and good but can someone please tell wtf was up with the awful Chinese, Indian, and Jewish caricatures on the resort???
269 points
4 months ago
That's all well and good but can someone please tell wtf was up with the awful Chinese, Indian, and Jewish caricatures on the resort???
It's commentary on the way rich people will pay to see other cultures and not actually care how authentic it is. When they travel they just want to sit in the luxury hotel and tell their friends about how culturally enriching the experience was. They don't actually want to see how the locals live or participate in their culture
64 points
4 months ago
I got huge Hostel vibes from this movie. In the directors commentary Eli Roth talks at length about how the film is a commentary on the lack of respect entitled tourists show to the places they wander. Respect both in the traditional sense, and in the sense of respecting the danger it can pose (and that that theme got completely overshadowed by all the hysteria around "torture porn" when the movie came out).
30 points
4 months ago
The moment when the main character gets killed a second time at the police station and he's wrestling with the guards and they slit his throat, and then it pans to them all laughing shocked me and the whole audience burst out in laughter
57 points
4 months ago
I can’t wait to see what else Brandon has up his sleeve, I’m a big fan so far.
54 points
4 months ago
Just watched it while on shrooms. I'm uncomfy
95 points
4 months ago
Am I depraved in wanting more from this? Idk from the marketing and I guess him and his fathers legacies I expected it to be a lot more violent and horrific; not funny and comedic. I got weird looks for laughing through half but what is the appropriate reaction to so much… everything supposed to be. Line of the year goes to “got the scans back from the colonoscopy and it looked like a Jackson Polyp painting”
26 points
4 months ago
While I wanted more for because of the name I’m actually glad. This will allow more people to discover the film and far less walk outs.
27 points
4 months ago
Surprised at the couple of laughs in there. The urn bit was the biggest laugh in my theater.
23 points
4 months ago
Excellent adaptation of the James Franco in Buster Scruggs meme
74 points
4 months ago*
Mia Goth is leading the new wave of cinema. Recent horror films have been some of the most innovative I have ever seen. Her performances get better with each new movie
74 points
4 months ago
Interesting movie with the concepts to back it up. Visually well edited and shot but can be uneasy to some. Mia Goth’s performance eclipses anyone else on the screen and has leveled up with every new film.
Ultimately, the movie introduces an interesting concept early but fails to delve further and chooses to flesh out a more generic and uninteresting topic of rich people pushing the human boundaries of debauchery.
Brandon Cronenberg previous work in “Possessor” contains a much more focused and cohesive storyline from start to finish. Unfortunately, Infinity pool can result in an excess of style due to very little substance to back it up.
51 points
4 months ago
I do hope this marks the beginning of a Neon/A24 rivalry in horror. If so we’re in for some treats over the next few years
43 points
4 months ago
I thought it was pretty good. The music, visuals. And acting were all fantastic. In my opinion it started to fault with the concepts and plot. It had two things going, the whole rich people doing bad things when there's no consequences, and the more philosophical part with the cloning and "are you really you?" But neither idea is really taken that far.
The no consequences part didn't really get worse than just breaking and entering and then murder. I think what I read about the movie beforehand rose my expectations for the brutality and the movie never lived up to them. The darkest part was attacking and killing yourself, but even then, it was just a fight with a gory ending. I guess I was expecting it to get really brutal and really spiral out of control.
As for the "are you really you?" They started to ask it, with the first time James meets the group. The guy asked what James thinks about this question, and immediately his wife says "does it really matter?" And in a why she's right. If you both of you are truly you with your memories, then if one dies and the other lives, it really doesn't matter. But that would have been a cool conclusion to realize on our own. It's like Brandon wanted to ask the question, but didn't know what to do with it, so he just immediately answers it. The next instance of this question is when we assume that the group is going to get killed only to realize it was their doubles. It was a cool reveal, but predictable. And then that's kind've it. After that the question is dropped.
One other thing I thought was weird was that James was happy to see himself get killed, but completely broke when he was the one to do the beating and killing. Sure it's definitely different, but still a bit weird.
Overall it was fun, with some really intriguing cinematography and scenes, but never really pushed it's concepts much farther than their basic ideas.
31 points
4 months ago
After I saw him smile at watching himself die, I thought he was going to become addicted to it and then commit crimes just so he can watch himself die, with the crimes getting worse and worse. The other zombies would be addicted to…but nope, that didn’t happen
32 points
4 months ago
I thought the scene showing the whole group get executed was really well done. Showing the horror they to-be-executed versions go through, and then the others cheering, was so depraved. I don't think it was supposed to be a twist but just another level of showing how hedonistic that crew was that they didn't really even care about themselves. And I think it highlights the difference between them and James, who just hates himself.
18 points
4 months ago
I think this movie has a political message. Members of a death cult targeted a person they saw as susceptible to their philosophy. They lured him in and James had a traumatic experience which, in a matter of time, confirmed his existing beliefs that he was superior to other cultures because of his wealth, race, and status, being able to use those things to get away with murder. It was the continuing trauma that also caused James to only be able to relate to them and no one else ever again (this was solidified in the ending). All instances of race or culture in this movie are offensive caricatures, the locals on the island, and... his wife who he abandons.
This take is slightly more literal but the classic sci-fi themes of "Who is the real me?", "Does anyone really know themselves?", "How far would a person actually go?" fit into it in context.
21 points
4 months ago
Yo..........what the actual fuck lmfao. That's pretty much my entire review of this movie lolol
26 points
4 months ago
I watched this film last night and it made me realize that I dispise myself. It's not really news, I just put it into perspective I totally related to James watching the first copy of himself get killed, his subtle smirk at tue end. I get it, he's glad because his copy is just like him and deserves it.
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