Pools: Sinking in grief

On the surface, Pools, written and directed by Sam Hayes, is about escaping the heat into the cool blue water. There are currents at work below the surface that occasionally take us deeper into questions of how we find the meaning of our lives.

Kennedy (Odessa A’zion) was a straight-A student in her freshman year, but things fell apart when she was a sophomore. Now, she’s in summer school (well, she’s enrolled) trying to get back on track. Except she’s still a mess. She is aimless. The dean gives her an ultimatum, get back to class or get out. Her escape is to gather a diverse group of others for a night of drinking and sneaking from one pool to the next in an affluent community. In time, they come to a house in which the people are away (thanks to AC problems) and make the most of it.

(From Left to Right) Odessa A’zion, Ariel Winter. Photo by DP Ben Hardwicke.

In essence, Pools is a Gen Z version of a John Hughes film. The group represents various stereotypes: jock, nerd, sexy girl, sensitive girl (yet each is a bit of a twist on the stereotype). But they all are moons that circle Kennedy as she manically acts out the angst that is swallowing her life.

Kennedy’s troubles grow out of the death of her father. All her life, she has lived to please him. Now, there is no way to get that approval. Instead, she just has no focus. None of the others really understand her, even those who were or want to be her friends. She even tempts death with marathon underwater breath holding. It is when she does this that she is nearest to feeling peace. But, of course, she keeps having to come back to life.

(From Left to Right) Michael Vlamis, Odessa A’zion. Photo by DP Ben Hardwicke.

Wisdom finally comes to her in the person of Michael (Michael Vlamis), an AC repairman, who is just a bit older, and sort of the same kind of messed up personality. But he is the one who has learned not to live trying to please others. He convinces her that it’s up to her to give approval to her life.

The anarchy of the group’s bacchanalia at someone else’s expense is a bit off-putting. It’s not really a matter of rebellion or of blowing off steam. They are just wild for wildness’ sake. For Kennedy, this may be an outlet for all she has kept bottled up, but over all, this night of taking from others is going way too far.

One of the shortcomings of the film is that, while Kennedy goes on to find a new way, the rest of the cohort all just return to life as it was. We don’t get to see the growth that they might have brought back from this experience.