“Chaos is order yet undeciphered”
Doppelganger – ‘a ghostly double or counterpart of living person’
Denis Villeneuve evokes Hitchcock, Haneke, a splash of Noe and a pinch of Lynch in this strange, disturbing, mysterious and Kafkaesque thriller.
Jake Gyllenhaal plays a school teacher, Adam, who discovers there is an actor who looks just like him, he then proceeds to seek out this double and the puzzle begins.
This is truly an unsettling film and will, without a doubt leave you scratching your head. This is what art is capable of, begging questions of its viewers. It is much more intriguing and satisfying than having everything tied up in a neat little compartmentalised bow. The colours and music help to unsettle the audience. Cinematography by Nicolas Bolduc and the music is by Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans.
What is real? What is imagined? What is going on? What is it saying? There are many theories and apparently Villeneuve has kept quiet, apart from saying “If you look at Enemy again, you’ll see that everything has an answer and a meaning.”
Based on Jose Saramago’s novel, The Double (the quote at the top of this review and the beginning of the film is taken from it), this has got to be one of the most powerful films I have seen this year, this was eminently more enjoyable than Villeneuve’s last foray, Prisoners. The screenplay by Javier Gulon is tautly written juxtaposing the looser pace of the film. Jake Gyllenhaal is excellent, yet again playing the teacher and the actor. Melanie Laurent and Sarah Gadon are brilliant as the women in the two Jakes’ lives. Special mention goes to Gadon for expertly portraying a complex role with absolute conviction.
People will either love this or hate it, the haters will be the ones that want everything packaged up the way Weinstein wants to give it to you but for this viewer it is exactly what the doctor ordered.
The less said plot wise, the better, the trailer is below but avoid if you want a movie experience unclouded by various images from the film.
Just watch the film, you may be able to unlock the puzzle.
4/5
DOWNLOAD THE FILM ON iTUNES HERE
the movie musings 