Director: Richard Ayoade.
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Jesse Eisenberg, Mia Wasikowska, Wallace Shawn, Chris O’Dowd.
Running Time: 93 minutes.
Certificate: 15.
Synopsis: Simon is an office drone who’s seemingly accepted a life of insignificance – until along comes James, his doppelganger and polar opposite, who begins to unpick the threads of Simon’s lonely existence one at a time…
Sometimes, when you come away from a film not understanding at all what you’ve just seen, it initially can be frustrating and not always a fully enjoyable experience – Jonathan Glazer’s recent UNDER THE SKIN comes to mind – but THE DOUBLE goes some way to allaying those feelings. Richard Ayoade’s noir-ish tale of deceit and fraud spends time holding its metaphorical cards close, and although never really showing its hand, instead lends itself to a darkly comic and claustrophobic atmosphere which is at least an intriguing concept – even if it’s difficult to stretch out over the course of the entire film.
Jesse Eisenberg plays Simon James, an overlooked office worker in a timeless, dystopian bureaucratic nightmare whose life is turned upside down when James Simon, played by Jesse Eisenberg, strolls in. James is Simon’s double only in appearance, of course; otherwise, the two are opposites and full credit to Eisenberg for playing it off so well. Simon is the chameleon of his workplace, blending in to the point that his boss doesn’t recognise him; James walks in and is instantly promoted for work he hasn’t done. Simon spends his time spying on colleague Hannah (Mia Wasikowska) through a telescope and, of course, then James sleeps with her.
It’s a curious setup, but the plot is soon reduced to a vehicle to showcase Ayoade’s directing talents, which he appears rather keen to show off. Not that there’s anything particularly wrong with that, but when most of the film’s highlights are of an aesthetic nature, it’s hard to remain focused on the script. We want to know who James is and why he’s here, but everything leading up to that story-wise is less interesting.
Still, saying this, the script occasionally crackles with whimsy and wit, and it’s those infrequent illuminations on the eternal darkness that surrounds THE DOUBLE which keep us engaged. Eisenberg is convincing in both roles (no mean feat where James is concerned considering his naturally high and timid voice) and Wasikowska is once again brilliant. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but THE DOUBLE is at least a visual masterpiece – and any film where an actor successfully works against himself is always worth watching.
[usr=3] THE DOUBLE is released today in UK cinemas.
