Richard Ayoade’s second directing feat, The Double, is all of your inner-anxieties wrapped up into one dystopian nightmare.
Continuing to explore the consequences of the deep-seated anxieties that permeate modern life which Ayoade touches upon in his first film, Submarine (2010), the Double has the young office worker, Simon (Jesse Eisenberg) as its protagonist. Competent but overlooked, Simon lacks the confidence to emerge as a victor in any area of his life. He is as good as invisible at work, even to the security guard who is stubbornly incapable of recognising him after seven years of work, and is nothing but an inconvenience to the lovely Hannah (Mia Wasikowska), for whom he pines.
Unlikable, unrecognizable and very much unnoticeable, Simon’s struggles to stand out are lost before they begun. However, the arrival of new employee James (Jesse Eisenberg), identical to Simon in every way but manner, summons a new wave of overwhelming existential panic for Simon. He is instantly overshadowed by his charismatic double, who is all smoothness and confidence where Simon is awkward and without ease, and quickly wins the hearts of Simon’s friends, daily antagonists, bosses and, worst still, the lady of Simon’s heart.
Simon’s own identity as an individual is soon thrown into question as the double pulls on his strings and entangles him in the strange, dark, and downwards spiraling world where the borders of sanity and reality seem to far away to be of any use.
Based on the novel of the same name by Dostoyevsky, the absurdist, surreal and sanity-questioning nature of the film place it firmly within Russian literary traditions. Themes of the individual being not only powerless but also inconsequential in face of organizations, worlds without pity, and society without hope run throughout this film as strongly as they do in the stories of Kafka and Gogol.
The film extends this however, and unfalteringly builds up a dark dystopian world that is shrouded in surrealism and a constant questioning of the reliability of the protagonist’s view of events. Visually, the effect of this world is complete and immersive. The sets hark back to earlier dystopian visions such as Brazil or Metropolis. There is no separation of day and night. Shadowy journeys on the subway segue way into the obscuring gloom and claustrophobia of the office building. Alone in his small, dark apartment, Simon looks out through his telescope. Hundreds of identical apartments are spread before him. Early in the film, a man in one of these apartments jumps to his death. A casual event, which causes amusement rather than concern for the ambulance personnel who arrive on the scene. “Put him down as a maybe”, one of them says of Simon in response to his colleagues question about Simon’s own likelihood of suicide, despite Simon’s protestations, knowing perhaps better than Simon the effect of this claustrophobic world on the human condition.
There’s no doubt about it, this is an excellent film. Eisenberg gives two very spectacular performances as both Simon and James and brings a dark humour to the role(s) that makes it wholly enjoyable to watch. And Ayoade from behind the camera has created a stunner both visually and in terms of suspense. It is perhaps likely that some viewers may be a touch alienated by the dark, surrealist nature of the film if not used to the genre. However, there’s so much that’s good about this film that it’s worth giving it a shot even if it’s not your usual cup of tea.
