Infinity Pool's surprise handjob scene isn't just for shock value
Infinity Pool spoilers follow. Plus a bunch of unavoidably filthy chat. You've been warned.
You've probably heard that Infinity Pool is an endless orgy of cum and blood and piss and vomit. And you'd be right! Brandon Cronenberg's film is truly vile and nauseating at points, but it's also a Sundance standout and one of the most memorable horror films you'll see this decade.
Trust us, seeing a leashed Alexander Skarsgård walk around naked on all fours isn't something you'll forget in a hurry.
Throw in some adult breastfeeding along with a penis that literally shoots out of a vagina, and it turns out there's a lot you might want to forget in a hurry, after all. However, even among all that depraved chaos, there is one scene in particular that's left audiences well and truly gagging.
Yes, we are of course referring to the now infamous handjob scene. Sounds pretty tame in comparison to all that other stuff, right? Wrong. And here's why.
(Spoilers ahead for Infinity Pool, so don't read on if you don't want to know anything.)
For the first 20 minutes or so, Infinity Pool unfolds a bit like The White Lotus, except here, it's not the gays who are trying to murder you...
Novelist James Foster (Skarsgård) and his wife Em (Cleopatra Coleman) are on vacation in a fictional country named Latoka where the rich like to sunbathe and party. There, James meets a fan named Gabi Bauer (Mia Goth) who befriends the pair and invites them for a secret rendezvous with her husband outside of the resort.
So far, so boujee, but twenty minutes in, things take a turn when Gabi sneaks up behind James while he's taking a piss.
Using just a small tree for cover, Gabi grabs James's cock and proceeds to wank him off while their partners are sat just a short distance away. The camera cuts back and forth between James' surprise, Gabi's stare, and close-ups of Gabi's hand wrapped around his member.
As far as onscreen handjobs go, it's an intense one. Gabi's strokes are more furious than loving, and the look in her eyes is far from sexy. There's no classy backdrop like that scene in Moonlight. Instead, she just wanks James off to completion and then walks away again, without a word.
Part of the reason why this scene is so startling is because it comes out of nowhere. Sure, it was always obvious that Gabi shouldn't be trusted, but the timing of it all still takes you by surprise.
But what's perhaps even more surprising about this handjob is how much you actually get to see of it onscreen.
At Sundance, the full scene included vivid close-ups of Foster's member, and at the end, we even saw him finish with his cum splattering on the ground below. However, the US theatrical release has been cut ever so slightly to avoid the NC-17 rating, so the most graphic moments from this scene have been snipped out entirely.
That's not to say Skarsgård's "very well-made silicone cock" won't soon be in reach for non-festival-goers though.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Cronenberg's already revealed that there are plans to throw those scenes back in for the home release. As they should, we say, and not just because we're horny self-proclaimed Stans-gårds.
Heading in, anyone with even a vague idea of what the film's about must know they're in for something disturbing, but the uncomfortable tension this brings is hidden under the surface for those first twenty minutes. It's not until Gabi takes control that the true horrors of what's in store start to become apparent.
Speaking to Buzzfeed, Mia Goth explained why this scene is a tipping point for both Gabi and James.
"I read it as a way for Gabi to assert her dominance over James. I was thinking it was similar to how when guys are in prison, and then they make a fellow inmate hold their pocket. It was kind of like Gabi's way of doing that," she explained.
"It was a way to subtly inform James as to where we were headed. It was just a power trip more than anything. It was about Gabi exerting her confidence over him."
By suddenly breaking the social norms of the situation with such boldness, Gabi's actions start the film down a more surreal path that's no longer in touch with reality, or at least, the reality James believes to be true. And the wang is key to this.
Seeing James' penis ejaculate also breaks the social norms of what we come to expect from movies outside of porn.
Cronenberg is known for pushing boundaries, but the scene is still graphic, even by his standards, and the abrupt way it happens is deliberately disconcerting for us as an audience, effectively putting us in the same position as James (mentally speaking, of course).
It's essentially this film's equivalent of when Alice falls down the rabbit hole, except there's a penis instead of a rabbit.
From that point on, the rules no longer apply akin to how the rich socialites commit grotesque crimes in Latoka without any fear of repercussion.
Speaking to Indiewire, Cronenberg explained how this perverse setting – "this contained, almost Disneyland mirror of reality" – supports the deeper themes that underpin his script.
"I feel like just shock for the sake of shock has limited value. In my films, you're looking at bland people in a bland context who then, because of freedom from responsibility, start to have this animalistic violence and carnality resurface. That contrast is really important to viscerally communicate what they're experiencing."
That contrast in question, the one that's so crucial to the entire film, is felt so acutely because of the handjob which kickstarts that shift long before Gabi breastfeeds James or walks him around on a leash.
Even an endless orgy of cum and blood and piss and vomit has to start somewhere, right?
Infinity Pool is out now in US cinemas following its Sundance debut. It will be released in UK cinemas on March 24.
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