Infinity Pool might possibly be the first film of 2023 that will leave you scratching your head by the end of it. I will be going over the ending and the possible meanings of the ending. Of course if you have not watched the film definitely check out or review which is spoiler free. Lets get into the movie and its hidden meanings.

Story Recap

A vacation at a resort for James Foster and his wife Em, where James, an author, is seeking inspiration for his next book, takes a dark turn when James encounters a fan, Gabi, who invites him and Em out to dinner with her and her husband, Alban. We then see Gabi and Alban invite Em an James on a trip outside the resort the next day. During the trip, Gabi attempts to seduce James, but the worst is yet to come on the way back, when, while driving an intoxicated group home and with lights malfunctioning on the car, James accidentally runs over a local, killing them. Gabi and Alban convince James to return to the resort and they will take care of it. The next day, officials come to take James, offering him the choice of execution or paying to have a clone of himself executed. James chooses the latter, but is shaken by the experience and unable to find his passport as Em wants to leave. Gabi finds James in the lobby the next day and invites him to meet with others from the resort who, like James, have also committed crimes and had their clones killed. The group explains that they come to the resort annually to commit crimes without repercussions. James is taken on a series of violent and hedonistic events, leading to a toll on his psyche and ultimately resulting in him being forced to fight his own clone to the death in order to be accepted into the group. In the end, the group returns home as if nothing ever happened, except for James, who chooses to stay on the island.

Why Did James Decide to Stay?

James in the end we see is not able to return back home and decides to stay in the island, but why? I think to understand the reason as to why he stays we have to look at James progression in the movie. We see he is someone who is lost in the beginning and also in a creative rut and not feeling adequate of his life. This is where Gabi’s character comes in like almost the devil in the flesh to offer James pleasure with no consequence. James is seduced by this idea almost like a Faustian deal where by the end of it will lose his self in this. I believe this is what we see happen at the end to James and him killing his clone reflects his own ego death leaving him empty and with no sense of purpose anymore. Unlike the other “Zombies” James just can’t shake off what happened and go back to society like nothing ever happened. These leads him to go back to the resort during what appears to be a monsoon sweeping the island and he’s just sitting there. I think James is not able to escape the island anymore and feels a stronger connection to it especially after dropping his seed. He came out on the losing end of the deal with the devil who promised him to see wonders he could never imagine so a very Faustian story at its core.

Ending Explained

In the end we see a writer who came out to the resort to find inspiration for his next work but came out with more than he asked for. James was allured by the idea of having no restraints that was presented to him by Gabi and company but quickly realized how vile and wicked it all was. He was not able to escape however and by the end became more of a prop to the group than someone who could actually be one of them. On the bus ride home he realizes just how insane they really are that they can just switch back to normal without a care as to what happened. James had only been on a high in the beginning when it seemed he didn’t care but coming back to reality it all hit him at once. This is why James decides to stay on the island because he feels he deserves to stay and be punished due to his morality.

Let me know what you think and if I missed something on the ending and the movie itself! Make sure to follow us for more on all the things you love as well.