A mystery comedy set against the backdrop of LA, Chris Pine’s directorial debut ‘Poolman’ follows Darren (Pine), a native Angeleno with an unwavering drive to make the city better for its people. Eager to fight city hall, Darren is tasked with uncovering a suspicious business deal, revealing the darker side of his home town.
Driven by the flaky Darren, the story follows the man as he maintains the pool by the Tahitian Tiki, an old apartment complex, and spends his time with neighbors Diane (Annette Bening) also his therapist, and Jack (Danny DeVito), cameraman and director of Darren’s documentary detailing his civic efforts against the city council and his attempts at improving the town.
Greeted one day by June Del Ray (DeWanda Wise), new assistant to councillor Stephen Toronkowski (Stephen Tobolowsky), Darren is steered towards investigating councillor Toronkowski in order to uncover misdoings related to a new housing development.
Anchored by Chris Pine’s Darren, the film opens on the eccentric man and his daily routine, - cleaning the pool by his house, meditating, meeting with his girlfriend Susan (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and writing personal letters to his social justice warrior idol Erin Brokovich.
Intriguing and quirky, the potential the film proposes is never explored. Soon learning that the narrative is as rash and confused as the film’s protagonist, what ‘Poolman’ delivers is an homage verging on parody of the classic films that have so clearly inspired the project’s creator.
Changing tone from oddly insightful to whimsically muddled, the film carries a cast oozing talent, yet misplaced exchanges render the actor's efforts failed and further frustrate the viewing experience. Having drawn inspiration from ‘Chinatown’ (1974), ‘Erin Brokovich’ (2000) and ‘Inherent Vice’ (2014) the film goes to lengths to mimic the atmosphere and tone carried by the iconic films. What transpires on screen results in a nebulous plot and a tonally shifting narrative that ends up more exasperating than entertaining.
What works in favour of the feature are the art deco style sets and glamorous costume design. Tying our present time to the golden age of Hollywood lets the viewers immerse themselves into a time long left behind, even if the shift to this particular stylistic choice seems to emerge unprovoked and unannounced.
A chaotic and almost irritating experience, ‘Poolman’ stems from the love of neo-noir cinema, wanting to evoke mystery and intrigue. What works against it is the distracting and conflicting comedic tone that seems to be forced into every possible crevice of the film, rendering the final product unpalatable and annoying, save for a few unexpected exchanges that land and invite genuine laughs into the tonally incoherent project.
Score: 1/4
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