Duplicate review: Ansel Elgort gives a wonderful double-performance as two brothers trapped inside the same body in a film that is part-science fiction and part-psychological drama.
BFI London Film Festival Via Image.net
Elgort is Jonathan – in fact this film’s original US title – a clean-cut career person and inhabitant of his twenty-something body for 12 hours of the day – 7am to 7pm – while his slightly off-balance, very different sibling, John, gets his turn from 7pm until 7am. Their interactions with one another are recorded on video-tape with each of them relaying messages to one another with occurrences from the previous day before they go to sleep. It’s an interesting concept – perhaps one which isn’t quite pushed as far as could have been in Bill Oliver’s otherwise impressive debut as a feature filmmaker.
An interaction between Jonathan and Suki Waterhouse’s Elena, kick off a series of events with potentially life-changing consequences, ones that could impact both brothers’ in terms of their day-to-day existence and their individuality as a whole.
The impressive cast also includes Patricia Clarkson as Mina, a doctor who manages their co-existence, obviously aware of their secret, as well as the likes of Matt Bomer and acclaimed British theatre, film and television actor Douglas Hodge. Whilst Oliver’s debut feature doesn’t exploit its early promise as much as I’d hope, it certainly does raise many morality questions, leaving his audience to perhaps come up with their own answers. The film has a very plodding nature early on, but as the film progresses and certain plot beats occur, the feature becomes much more interesting, a very unique editing style (from I Don’t Feel At Home Anymore splicer Tomas Vengris), particularly during the film’s very engaging climactic scenes.
Elgort’s performance is also admirable, the former teen idol flexing his chops is a very difficult role.
Duplicate won’t be for all, but if you stick with it for its relatively short 95 minute running time, you will be rewarded with a very original, and actually rather fulfilling tale from a new feature filmmaker with oodles of promise.
Duplicate review by Paul Heath, October 2018.
Duplicate was reviewed at the 2018 BFI London Film Festival.
