“Hedonistic and Out of Control”, Cleopatra Coleman on Infinity Pool

In the muffled dark of a hotel room, silhouetted by a bay window, Cleopatra Coleman’s Em mutters “White sand brain death. You said ‘do you want to go white sand brain death?’.” A man, her husband, questions her, before realizing her mistake. “Oh… no I said ‘do you want to go downstairs for breakfast?’”. 

These are the first moments of Brandon Cronenberg’s latest feature, Infinity Pool… and it gets even stranger from there.

Set in the fictional European country of Li Tolqa, Infinity Pool follows Em and her husband James (Alexander Skarsgård), a desperate novelist, holidaying in a local resort. During their holiday they meet with two other holidaymakers, Gabi (Mia Goth) and Alban (Jalil Lespert), who introduce them to a hedonistic world of sex, violence, and monstrous surreality. Arrested by the police, they are faced with an ultimatum: die for your crimes, or be cloned, and watch yourself die… that is, if you have the money.

The result is a menacing film, shocking enough to be censored in the US, with uncut versions released in Europe and, recently, Australia.

Ahead of the film’s Australian release, we spoke to star Cleopatra Coleman, to dive into this deep dark pool and indulge, for a while, in its turbulent waters.

Did you know what you're expecting, getting into a Brandon Cronenberg movie?

I did! I’m a big fan of his father, and I've been such a fan of his work from Antiviral to Possessor, so I knew he was this really exciting new voice in horror. Certainly that was part of the sell for me. As soon as I saw his name in the email, I was all excited like, "what's this?!"  

Having said that, there's really no way to fully prepare for the insanity of this particular film.

Em's first line in the film is "white sand brain death", which is just this beautiful, ridiculous line. It points to something that's been brought up before: Cronenberg's movies are about the erosion of the soul. Do you think that that's what the film is getting at?

Yeah, I think Infinity Pool does speak to a sort of internal erosion on James's behalf. It's kind of about writer's block and feeling stuck and how far you would go to get out of that feeling to the detriment of yourself, your relationship. And then for Em, it's about losing your partner to that process. So, yeah, it certainly speaks to the midlife crisis, call it writer's block, call it just feeling stuck and stagnant. There’s definitely an erosion there.

And that erosion takes place in a unique setting: Li Tolqa, this fantastical Eastern European, West Asian hybrid country. What was it like settling into Li Tolqa as a setting? And how did the filming process go with those sets and its created language and culture?

We shot the film in Hungary and in Croatia, so as much as it was fictional we did have some grounding. There was one scene that we shot in an old nuclear plant that was no longer in operation, in Croatia, we were filming in a real all inclusive resort. So there were real elements of history there, and we were also experiencing what the film was about while we were making it. Brandon did a really good job of being specific enough, but not too specific with this fictional country, which is something that he's so great at. That made it all actually quite easy to believe.

Em is almost a grounding point to the madness of this film. What was it like playing between these two incredibly bombastic performances, both Alexander Skarsgard and Mia Goth? Did you ever get that urge to do something crazy like they're doing? Or was it easy to restrain that?

Em is a lot more restrained than I am, so that was definitely an adjustment that had to be made! But it all made sense to me within the context of her upbringing and who she is and the whole entire backstory that I put together for her with Brandon. I think it's definitely way more fun to be bombastic, but at the same time, being able to lend myself to a story that is so hedonistic and out of control and shocking in the best way. Even if I'm the only one reacting normally to the circumstances, that's still really fun and really satisfying. That's what I love about the variety of my job: one minute I'm playing the intense, crazy person, and in another project like this, I'm the straight guy. So either way, there's something to get from it that you end up enjoying as an actor. They all have their different colours that you get to paint with.

Infinity Pool is an intense film, and while the US version has been edited down, Australia's getting the unrated cut. What would you say to people that are maybe a little bit reticent to approach this film?

I would say hold on to your seats. It's not a movie that's going to terrify you, it's much more psychological, hedonistic, crazy. It's visually stunning, it's original, it's actually quite funny, it's absurd, but at the same time it's talking about real world issues like economic status and the divide between people in a relationship. It's a really fun movie. Yes, there's moments where it's unsettling, but no one's coming to get you-- it's not that type of film. But it's shocking in the best way and the less you know, the better.

What are your thoughts on the reaction this film has had with a queer audience? Especially with our reaction to the film’s most shocking moments?

I think it's great! I love it too because it's within the context of what the film is about. It's not just for shocking’s sake, it's actually saying something in this case. So I absolutely love it and I'm excited that people enjoy it too, because I know that's what Brandon wanted. I know that's what Kareem Hussein, our cinematographer, wanted. I know that's what we all wanted by being a part of it. And when we read it, at least for me, especially that opening scene, and like you mentioned, that line! Some of those lines are just so juicy and strange and off center. I'm all for it and sometimes with film making, it's like if we're not really going there, then what's the point? Infinity Pool really satisfies that. So I'm very happy to hear people are enjoying it.

Isn’t that a little odd? On one side, it's shocking and disgusting, but for folks who are really into Cronenberg's work, and especially his father's work, there’s an orgy of strangeness here that’s just beautiful. 

I guess that's what meta is, isn't it? In a way, it's like critiquing the thing while celebrating the thing, and you get permission to do both, and that's what good art is all about. So as an audience member, you get to enjoy it, and you also get to be disturbed and scared.

Infinity Pool is in cinemas across Australia from 11th May