"Pools" Film Review

Pools

Rating: 4/5

By: Nathaniel Simpson

    College is a weird time for many people. We have the students who know exactly what they want and will stop at nothing to make sure they achieve it throughout their college career. Then there are others who aren't entirely sure which field of study they want to get into and suffer from bad grades and not really caring about showing up for class. These two classes of students are at the forefront of Sam Hayes' Pools, a bizarre and entertaining rollercoaster about a student trying to find a way to survive during the summer in Chicago. It's delightfully weird and fun, while also presenting this character study of someone dealing with a traumatic experience and trying to move forward. 

    Our main character here, Kennedy (Odessa A'zion) has lost the drive and dedication for pursuing her degree in school. Since the death of her father, she has sort of felt lost, floating around the campus and not paying attention to her studies. When the school informs her that she needs to get back on track, she decides to plan an impromptu night of drinking and swimming at the pools of the rich people in the area, planning on breaking in and having a fun night with whoever will join her. When she assembles a group of other students (Ariel Winter, Mason Gooding, Francesca Noel, Tyler Alvarez), they find the perfect place to spend the night and really start to discover themselves. 

    Without a doubt, this is a very odd film, but I think it works due to how bizarre some of it is. From the awkward dialogue at times to odd scenarios our characters find themselves in to the increasingly random chain of events, Hayes does a great job of crafting this deep and serious film about self-discovery and depression after a tragedy that is also fun to watch too. A moment that stands out to me is when Gooding's character is remembering how he got the small liquor bottles compared to a big bottle for the group to share. I won't give away this moment here, but the entire segment shows how Hayes understands darkly comedic timing and moments, and he wonderfully sprinkles them throughout the entirety of the film.

    At the same time, I adore the chemistry between this entire cast, which is rounded out by Michael Vlamis as Michael the AC repairman. Every single performer here is great in their own roles, but when they are together, the scenes work together wonderfully. I especially want to point out Gooding's performance as I think he is hilarious as the character of Reed. However, it is truly A'zion who steals the show here, giving a nuanced and complex take on the character of Kennedy. There is a lot going on with her that I don't think she fully wants to confront, and A'zion does a fantastic job of bringing this complex and damaged character alive. As someone who also lost their father around the same age as A'zion's character, the way she approaches life and the events after this tragedy feels very real and genuine, and I applaud A'zion for really tapping into that mindset. 

    I think Hayes does a great job of detailing this impromptu night of fun and adventure between these college students. The entirety of them trying to plan this night and then start to break into these homes is a lot of fun to watch, and the performers here are amazing at bringing this wild night to life. I enjoyed watching them prance around these neighborhoods and break into these pool areas, and I think it is a perfect celebration of being young and having the freedom to do these things. However, with that being said, there is this lull towards the middle of the picture that it seems like Hayes sort of lost his pacing. This occurs when the group of friends break into the final home they attempt to swim in, and try to figure out dynamics between the group and who is hooking up with who. I understand what Hayes was trying to do here, but I think there was a much better way to approach these story elements. It sort of lost me and slowed the film down quite a bit, and he had to work extra hard to really get the viewer back into the film to conclude it. In terms of the rest of this film after this slow middle-part, I think it works really well. But, that lull around the fifty-minute mark really damages part of the movie experience. 

    All in all, I really enjoyed what Hayes was setting up here, and he was blessed with this fantastic group of actors that all do a great job filling these roles. This movie is a lot of fun and fits my level of weirdness, and I wanted to see more crazy adventures with this group of teens. Sure, it's not perfect, but it is a very fun watch from beginning to end.