The Double

The Double is director Richard Ayoade’s (The IT Crowd) second film in the directorial seat, following on from 2010’s Submarine.  It is based off a short story by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and stars Jesse Eisenberg and Mia Wasikowska.  It’s a movie that suggests that Ayoade is not willing to stick to his comedic comfort zone as it differs widely from The It Crowd’s own brand of surreal humour.

We follow the life of Simon James (Eisenberg) who is a man that appears to be hated by the universe.  No one notices him and when they do they very rarely care.  Technology hates him and his job in a dystopian office environment appears to be stuck in a rut.  That is until James Simon (Eisenberg) turns up.  Identical to Simon in every way but in personality, he is outgoing and confident while Simon is shy and constrained, he sets about stealing everything that he holds dear, including love interest Hannah (Wasikowska), and destroying the small remnants of a life he has left.

It’s a black comedy that to be honest is slightly short on the comedic moments.  Very rarely will you laugh at loud in this movie and instead it’s a film that will make you question and fight with it rather than be picked up with it, because to be frank it’s really weird.  Eisenberg is surprisingly strong in the central role as it is essentially his incarnation of Mark Zuckerberg squaring off with an incarnation that suggests that he is very safe casting as Lex Luther.  While Mia Wasikowska continues to show that she is one of the best up and coming actresses in the world at the moment, as she puts in a solid performance as the arty Hannah, who is as infuriating as she is endearing.

Where this film is let down is in the story. While it is strange there is very little in it that you have not seen before and the likes of Brazil are clearly huge influences.  This is a dystopian world that is as familiar as it is grey and depressing.  While the plot toes the line of being great but never quite manages to make the leap, as it leaves you feeling a bit empty and lacking in that fulfilment that comes after many great movies.

The Double is not a bad film but it’s a movie that feels like it is trying to be a lot smarter and a lot better than it is.  It has some moments that will make you chuckle but none that will make you laugh out loud, yet on the other hand isn’t intelligent or innovative enough to allow for it to get away with this.  In the end you are left with a movie that I’m sure many will enjoy, but I can’t see anyone truly loving.