Dakota Gorman’s The Girl in the Pool is certainly an inconsistent film. It has the structure of a competent thriller. Sadly, the plot is unimaginative, and uneven performative quality from particular supporting characters drags the viewer completely out of the movie. Nonetheless, the suspicion and suspense that pervade this mystery thriller gather enough intrigue to be reasonable as an entertainment on a boring evening. And if this is all you are looking for, then there are unlikely to be any reasons to be dissatisfied with The Girl in the Pool.
The movie centers around Thomas (Freddie Prinze Jr.) who is, let’s be honest, a middle aged Faddy and possibly one of the luckiest men in the world. This man has a steady income, a luxurious house, a gorgeous and loving spouse (Monica Potter) and two adoring kids. But for some people, enough is not enough… and in Thomas’ case, he has a much younger lover as well. This apparently aristocratic male’s womanizing ways are ultimately too much for him when the lover is found dead in his swimming pool. Unsure of how she died and who killed her, Thomas decides to hide her body in a tub outside his house. This attempt fails because Thomas’ family concealed a pleasant surprise for him. If ever there were an instance of poor timing, this is it. What a nightmare!
The film starts with some promise. However, at the end of it all, we are left with echoes of what could only have been. The Girl in the Pool is not a complete waste of time. I was quite impressed by the dizzying opening sequence. Gorman, for his part, does manage to stretch some of that energy into the second half as well. Yet, several drawbacks prevent the film from rather achieving the greatness it was meant to embody.
There are also tonal issues that hamper the film from achieving complete success. Dark humor is interspersed throughout the film. A couple of them are quite okay and make you laugh. But it would have been more appropriate to keep the intensity under control and present the comedic interludes at more suitable intervals. As it stands, and is probably unfortunate, the tonal inconsistencies are an impediment to making The Girl in the Pool an fully absorbing film. To be honest though, they are not enough to make the movie difficult to watch anyways.
The only other point of contention is that some of the dialogue was a bit off and could have used another round of edits. There are some exchanges between characters that are performed so poorly that it takes you out of the story. This is made even worse by secondary characters that do not deliver convincing supportive performances.
I have in the previous sections written about what The Girl in the Pool does not achieve so well, but I really do comprehend some of the visual storytelling and the context that has a vision behind it. Speaking of intertextuality and inspiration, it is apparent that writer Jackson Reid Williams was under the impression of Hitchcock’s Rope. Many moments have a similar sound and feeling: party guests are invited to sit on and around the coffin which contains what is left of Thomas’ dead mistress. There’s no need to give Hitchcock a run for his money, I still appreciate a decent homage.
Gorman also toys around with the strategies for non linear narratives, in this case providing us with some puzzle pieces that lead us into the inciting event only for us to be flung back to the point where the main action of the movie comes into play. In such cases, the viewer is managed in Non linear storytelling to the extent that the twist is preserved. I would have hoped that it had been better incorporated here. Still, the method pays tribute to pixels Chika, Nolan, or Tarantino who have mastered the art of killing the audience with a surprise by using jumbled up timelines.
The strong point of Williams’ ‘The Girl In The Pool’ is that it does not have the levels of success reached by them who have mastered non-linear narratives. Still, the method does manage to plant some level of suspicion in the viewer and provide various suspects. I just feel that Williams’ conclusion would have done better overall if it had produced a final twist that is less obvious. However, the flick does do well enough so as to keep the viewer entertained regardless of the fact that it feels like one of those “Lifetime” movies. Instead of being regarded as another classic ‘Lifetime Movie’ The Girl in the Pool is in a slightly different category even though it shares some of the themes.
However, if you are willing to embrace a pulpy mystery with Freddy Prinze Jr. in a respectable middle aged performance, then you just might get a kick out of the murder mystery.
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