In 2013, two films released, ‘The Double’ and ‘Enemy’ both following the story of a man meeting his doppelganger, much more handsome, much more charismatic, much more powerful in every way. Both films were based on books, ‘The Double’ on a Dostoyevsky novella and ‘Enemy’ on a Saramago novel, both books following almost the exact same plot. The films segregate themselves with their genres, Mason Horsley reviewed the black-comedy ‘The Double’ and Daniel Fagan reviewed the surrealist psychological thriller ‘Enemy’. This week’s review is a double feature, grab your popcorn, recline your chair and strap in.
The Double (2013) dir. Richard Ayoade – Review By Mason Horsley
Self-improvement can be both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, self-improvement can lead to a healthier lifestyle, you could be stronger, smarter, more sociable and do things you’ve never expected, but on the other, it could lead to self-lamentation. “Why aren’t you more attractive? Why can’t you get into a relationship? Is something wrong with you? Any loser can do a spreadsheet! Oh, you’re trying? You’re not trying hard enough! Why am I wasting my time on you? You’re just wasted space!” And all you see in your mind’s eye is what you could be, but never can be. You don’t have the balls to be that person.
Simon James is a lowly office worker employed in an Orwellian workplace which, like the rest of the world, alienates and discriminates against him, despite his exemplary workflow. His only joys in life are a science-fiction TV series and his fantasies of being with a co-worker who lives in an apartment block opposite to him. One day, he meets James Simon, an exact duplicate of him, with the only difference being he’s much more charismatic, successfully controlling the office to his needs and desires. James attempts to change Simon for the better, but when Simon fails, James takes the opportunity to slowly take over his life, dating Hannah, overtaking Simon in his career and even kicking him out of his own apartment. Simon is thrust into a nightmare and with his hand now forced, must attempt to take back his life.
Of course, we’ve seen this plot over and over again in different interpretations, ‘Enemy’, ‘Fight Club’, but the beauty of this interpretation is it’s perfect blend of Orwellian-Lynchian horror. It feels like ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’ mixed with ‘Beau Is Afraid’, a special horror in that the real scare is how your future is already written and there is nothing you can do to change it, free will is an illusion. The real tragedy of ‘The Double’, like with ‘Fight Club’, ‘Enemy’ and ‘Beau Is Afraid’ is that Simon believes this. Throughout the film, Simon is faced with events he could take advantage of, but like every downtrodden protagonist, focuses on the negative aspect and doesn’t stop to ask himself “Wouldn’t I be better off this way?” Simon could have taken multiple chances to forget everything and forge a new life for himself, but because his belief is that he was meant and chosen to go down this path, he doesn’t question it and punishes himself further.
Jesse Eisenberg plays both Simon James and James Simon and it was quite refreshing to see him in a more vulnerable role. His performance as Simon is like a dulled, more quiet version of Beau Wasserman, more accepting of his lack of free will. After films like ‘Zombieland’, ‘Now You See Me’ and ‘The Social Network’ it’s a breath of air for me to see him not acting like a pompous smart-ass who has one-liners coming out his rectum like a geeky Ryan Reynolds. Luckily, he keeps that version of himself for another film because even as James, he finds a way to become a true villain, unlikable, cruel and only looking to advance. Mia Wasikowska plays Hannah, Simon/James’ love interest, a perfect cog in the machine. Mia plays Hannah with such a carefree attitude, no attention to anything outside of her life, she’s the perfect actress to complement Eisenberg’s descent into societal madness. A hilarious supporting cast member is Wallace Shawn as Mr Papadopoulos, Simon and James’s boss, his complete ignorance to any work achieved by James is a highlight to the film, poking fun at the stereotypical manager, exercising his empirical role.
The sound design is also remarkable, every scene within the workplace is accompanied by the sounds of industrial machines or sound effects straight from the era of Windows 95. Every time there’s a hint of progression in Simon, there are sweeps of violins, calling the dogs of war. In Simon’s quiet moments the sound of air slowly being sucked as his identity is being stolen feels like a piece out of the ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ soundtrack.
Mason’s Top 3 Reasons To Watch ‘The Double’
- An important reminder that there should be a healthy balance to being a pushover and an assertive, power-hungry controller
- A cathartic look at workplace dynamics, displaying all the toils and frustrations like blood splatter across a white-brick wall
- A brilliant social-horror piece which asks the question “is the world the problem, or are you?”
Enemy (2013) dir. Denis Villeneuve – Review By Daniel Fagan
‘I have been doomed to such a dreadful shipwreck: that man is not truly one, but truly two.’ – Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
Before cementing himself as a master of blockbuster filmmaking with the likes of Arrival (2016), Blade Runner 2049 (2018), and Dune Parts 1 (2021) and 2 (2024), Denis Villeneuve made some of the most sombre, meditative and meticulously crafted psychological thrillers of the century. Firstly, with the brilliant and absolutely devastating, Prisoners (2013), then the audience-perplexing, Enemy (2013/14).
Based on a 2002 novel by José Saramago titled The Double turned screenplay by Spanish screenwriter, Javier Gullón, Enemy is a mostly faithful adaptation of the source material in the broad strokes. It is in the finer details where the film differs and Villeneuve’s knack for getting to the visceral core of a story is revealed.
Enemy’s title card states, ‘Chaos is order yet undecided’ and depending on your mood the day you watch it, this may be the most life-affirming or pointlessly pretentious phrase you’ve set eyes upon. However, one thing is for certain, this quote (one of the only aspects taken directly from the source novel) complicates the understanding of what is to come.
The film opens with a man going to a secret, underground erotic performance where a nude woman brings forth a tarantula on a tray. She raises her foot high and moves to crush it. The audience is thrown into a surreal void, alone with woman, spider and man. Why does he want to see the spider crushed? Does he want to see the spider crushed?
Jake Gyllenhaal plays Adam Bell, a professor living in a sickly-yellow coloured Toronto with his girlfriend Mary (Melanie Laurent, known for roles in Inglorious Basterds, Now You See Me, and Beginners.) He is recommended a film by a colleague and upon watching it, notices an actor playing a bellboy with a striking similarity to himself. The actor’s name is Anthony Claire and after watching two more films with Anthony in them, Adam decides to meet his doppelganger.
As their worlds become intertwined, Villeneuve forces you down one of multiple paths of belief at a time but never settling in one for certain. Are Adam and Anthony the same person? That is the question on the surface of Enemy. It is a misdirection. The more appropriate question is, if Adam and Anthony are the same person, which is real and why does the other exist?
I find it best to submerge yourself in Enemy, to live in the atmosphere it creates for those 90 minutes and to only try and decipher its layered images and dialogue after the screen goes black. Don’t let my talk of analysis scare you, understanding this film isn’t some complex, unattainable goal. If you have no deeper desire to understand, Enemy is a perfectly enjoyable watch that is, like most great films, heightened by the story being told just below the surface. If nothing else, Enemy is a masterclass in how to effectively use symbolism, from spiders to keys and graffiti. Each frame has something worth noting, something which adds to the story and the web Villeneuve weaves.
If you’re struggling to figure out what Enemy is about, or what the ending implies, allow me to steer you in the right direction. First consider what the spiders may mean, then why Adam is fixated on them. Then you may consider the lectures Adam gives and listen closely to his conversation with his mother. I’m not trying to be condescending or prude, if you didn’t understand the movie and really want to know what its about, look it up on the internet, but it isn’t about a totalitarian regime of giant spiders taking over the world.
Give Enemy a watch, then a second and recall Adam’s quoting of Hegel and Marx
“It was Hegel who said that all the greatest world events happen twice. And then, Karl Marx added, the first time it was a tragedy and the second time it was a farce.”
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