THE STORY – At an all-boys water polo camp, a socially anxious twelve-year-old is pulled into a cruel tradition targeting an outcast with an illness they call “The Plague.” But as the lines between game and reality blur, he fears the joke might be hiding something real.
THE CAST – Joel Edgerton, Everett Blunck, Kayo Martin & Kenny Rasmussen
THE TEAM – Charlie Polinger (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 95 Minutes
From its opening scene, Charlie Polinger’s thrilling directorial debut “The Plague” submerges its viewer into the deep end of its adolescent periphery. Set within the raucous hallways of an early 2000s water polo camp, lost in the malaise of post-9/11 American suburbia, Polinger’s effective coming-of-age saga begins with the assimilation of his charismatic protagonist. For twelve-year-old Ben, social acceptance amongst his peers is his sole priority. As the cacophony of diving and backhanded serves to complement the chaotic and unpredictable group mentality that runs the campgrounds, Ben’s pursuit of acceptance eventually intersects with the cruelty of youth. Vicious groupthink drives the film’s thematic observations whilst playfully referencing the iconography of Polinger’s childhood. In pure millennial fashion, the film deviously name-drops Smash Mouth as one of the era’s quintessential signifiers.
The titular narrative ploy sparks Ben’s social deterioration, a conflict that feels inspired by the mechanics of the cheese touch found within the sardonic “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” franchise. Instead of utilizing the framework of a fictitious virus for comedic effect, Polinger adapts the familiar device to observe Ben’s paranoia and growing apathy directly. The brilliance of the film’s coming-of-age framework coincides with Polinger’s refusal to explain the interiority of his supporting cast fully. “The Plague” only offers glimpses into the lives of its antagonists, further disorienting Ben’s subjectivity in the process. The lines between truth and fiction blur within the domestic lives of the disheveled youth, further punctuating the psychological toll of the plague upon its naive protagonist.
Due to its inconclusive vantage, Polinger’s criticism of masculinity begins to flourish. As the bullying rhetoric spirals out of control, “The Plague” effectively deconstructs its dissection of power hierarchies through the concealment of the characters’ identities. Their humility manifests through their search for social acceptance. In the process, Polinger speaks on the performative personalities found within their ideological power play. The at-times improvisational mise-en-scène offers a rare sense of naturalism with its impressive child performances, giving emphasis to their power-hungry masquerade. Everett Blunck’s lead performance brilliantly embodies his indecisive character, embraced by the cringe-inducing nuances and neurodivergent subtext at the core of his pre-pubescent character.
On a thematic plane, the precise time period when Polinger frames his somewhat autobiographical parable aptly coincides with the American zeitgeist of the Bush era. As the country embarks on a senseless war against an unknown entity, the manipulated lines between truth and Islamophobic myth generate militaristic depravity. In some ways, the ideological frenzy found within Polinger’s film mimics the social trends of its depicted time period. The war on terror was a state-sponsored operation to maintain power. In a similar vein, the ideological disease that relentlessly torments the characters in “The Plague” is used to sustain division and normalcy within the vitriolic campgrounds.
Whereas “The Plague” primarily works as a psychological thriller, the influx of water polo activities aptly coalesces with the suffocating revelations found within its heartbreaking coda. Polinger infuses a haunting vocalized score with his kinetic water polo images. The game operates in a vicious cycle, as the sport directly mirrors the endlessness of the paranoiac plague. More importantly, the influx of underwater cinematography visually drowns the viewer alongside the protagonist’s sorrow. The film concludes its saga of coming-of-age misfortune with a harrowing moment of self-actualization.
While its inciting premise isn’t necessarily a fresh idea, Polinger executes his familiar bullying narrative with a precise directorial vision. The liminal hallways of the Tom Lerner Water Polo camp replicate the ambiance of a prison. The endless corridors and poorly lit dormitories entrap his characters in their inescapable groupthink. The film’s relentless narrative is expertly performed by a cast of newcomer talent who empathetically portray its heavy subject matter with deliberate psychological intensity. The uncomfortable conclusions drawn at the end of its abrupt credit roll remarkably avoid a safe finale, fully succumbing to the ramifications of Ben’s manipulated actions. As it stands, Polinger is a true talent to watch out for.
