The Double
Simon James works at a factory, where he is ‘seemingly invisible’ to those around him, he is forgotten by the security guard, his boss finds him a nuisance, and he is barely acknowledged by the woman he has a crush on. When someone who looks exactly like him starts working at his office – he becomes popular instantly – to Simon’s chagrin. But who is this man, whose name is James Simon???
Direction
From Richard Ayoade, UK superstar and comedian – comes this darkly bizzare film.
Filled with wonderfully mostly dull, dark tones which match those of the film. The main character primarily wear monotone colours, like beige or pale blue.
When colours do appear on screen they convey that characters are either in a great place (when a character thinks he is in love) or terrible place (following an attempt on their own life).
It is visually stunning, and is able to have both style and substance. A great effort in filmmaking.
Cast/Characters
Jesse Eisenberg excels playing the two characters; Simon, and James.
Simon is introverted, shy, holds himself with an almost ‘locked’ way when he walks and stands.
James on the other hand is more extroverted, he is brash, abrasive and free flowing with his movements (walking while swinging his arms etc).
Eisenberg excels in these types or roles, and this is one of the better performances I’ve seen him in.
Secondary cast members are Mia Wosikowska as Hannah, the woman Simon is in love with, and James tries to steal from him. I thought she was good, but not great – and at times I thought her accent seemed off (it was almost as if she was putting on a British/American accent but her Australian accent came through too much.
Wallace Shawn plays Mr Papadopoulis, the boss – and he is great in every scene. Noah Taylor plays one of Simon/James’ co – workers, and the only real person who knows Simon.
A few of Ayoade’s IT Crowd co-stars (Chris O’Dowd, Christopher Morris) appear in small roles.
Screenplay/Setting/Themes
Based on the novella by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Simon lives an unenviable existence throughout the film – even from the opening few moments of the film – he is introverted and characters around him are constantly antagonistic towards him.
As the story proceeds, the two become friends, with James even offering to assist in Simon becoming more assertive in the way he goes about things, but things go too far when James demands too much from Simon the third act in which he ‘breaks down’ comes across a little strange and abrupt.
The ‘unease’ of the film is complemented by the fact that almost the entirety of the film is either in windowless rooms, or at night time. The unnamed city has an almost 1970′ aesthetic – and retro dystopian feel as well. When characters are outside in the dark, there is a constant haze which adds to the ‘depressive’ feel that the characters go through.
Following on from that, suicide is a strong theme too, with un named characters doing just this, and some major characters trying to do this.
Score/Soundtrack
The score by Andrew Hewitt, is string instrument heavy and is an iteration of the song “Der Doppelgänger” by Franz Schubert.
Overall
I really enjoyed this film, and thought Eisenberg did a great job. It was a wonderful feat of filmmaking, from the set designs to the colouring – even some of the sound editing gives a complete sense of unease all throughout.
A strong recommend.
4/5
If you’re able to, please “buy me a coffee”