In Western culture, people tend to shy away from talking about death and grief. It’s only through art that they’re willing to confront the brutal reality in which we all exist. Ray Garraty says in The Long Walk: “The only guarantee you have as a human being is that you’re going to die. And if you’re lucky, you get to choose how to spend those last moments.” This existential truth hangs over our heads in everything we do, and when it happens to you, it can be quite easy to choke. Writer/director Sam Hayes explores these ideas with his film, Pools, a comedy/drama that acts as a reminder of the outward ripples death creates in our lives. The old adage (“time heals all wounds”) is a cliche, but it’s true. Only time can turn one’s pain into a scar; it’ll always be there, but you get better at coping with it.
Kennedy (Odessa A’zion) rides a scholarship at an elite university. Once a 4.0 student, she hasn’t been the same since her dad died the summer before. She barely goes to class and is in danger of being expelled. Her counselor, Miss Lewis (Suzanne Cryer), reprimands her for countless absences and tells her how great she could be. She just needs to keep her head down and push through. But it’s not that easy, is it? Grief can do wild things to your mind. You can do reckless things when you’re grieving or shut down altogether, or a mix of both. Kennedy has lost the motivation to keep moving. Instead, she succumbs to numbness and sloth. It doesn’t seem she really cares about anything—except for desperately trying to get the a/c fixed.
During a booze-filled night, Kennedy and some close friends go pool-hopping around the pristine suburb littered with extravagant homes with pools. She’s never been more carefree. Reed (Mason Gooding) steals a basket from a local convenience store, and it’s filled to the brim with those tiny liquor bottles, leading to a night of debauchery and escape. Kennedy also reconnects with an old friend, Delaney (Ariel Winter), with whom she lost contact over the past year. Later in the film, a chance encounter with the a/c guy, Michael (Michael Vlamis), makes her realize the truth about this whole situation. And it’s a truth we all need to hear.
Sam Hayes immerses you in Kennedy’s life. You get inside her head, and it also helps that A’zion pours everything she has into the performance. There’s frustration, anger, sadness, and helplessness, all splashing onto the screen. Even if you’ve never felt Kennedy’s kind of pain, you can live vicariously through A’zion and feel every ounce of that misery dripping on your forehead like some twisted game of water torture. The script feels real and raw as we witness Kennedy’s life crumble to ruin.
Some would say reality is a horror show, and Pools is a devastating glimpse into life’s most singular truth: that death and grief are both inevitable, and we can’t let them break us. The film feels both cinematic and deeply intimate. Credit goes to cinematographer Ben Hardwicke for inviting the audience into the world of pain, regret, and ultimately redemption. What you’re likely to walk away with is a grander understanding of what it means to really live and how to navigate the most horrifying moments of your life.
