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The Double
Trsvis_Bickle
Posts: 9,202 Forum Member
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This is Richard Ayoade's second feature film. He's probably better known to most of us as Moss, the socially inept IT nerd from the excellent The IT Crowd TV comedy series.
Jesse Eisenberg plays Simon James, a clerk working in a gloomy dystopian office, whose life is overtuned when a successful, gregarious doppelganger appears.
It's based on a Dostoevsky novella and I really wanted to like it but it just doesn't work. The attempts at comedy fall flat, the screenplay is dull and Eisenberg is hopeless at conveying either the passive drippiness of Simon James or the confidence of the eponymous double, James Simon.
Ayoade's influences aren't just in the film; they seem to actually comprise the film. The set design is ripped off from 1984 (all retro 1940s styling) , the intrusive whooshing sound effects are from Eraserhead and the lighting is also David Lynch-lite. This is all (unoriginal) style and no substance. It's like a film studies student's end of year project but feature-length.
I stuck it out for an hour but it just did not get any better. It did make me want to read the book but that's about all. Avoid.
Jesse Eisenberg plays Simon James, a clerk working in a gloomy dystopian office, whose life is overtuned when a successful, gregarious doppelganger appears.
It's based on a Dostoevsky novella and I really wanted to like it but it just doesn't work. The attempts at comedy fall flat, the screenplay is dull and Eisenberg is hopeless at conveying either the passive drippiness of Simon James or the confidence of the eponymous double, James Simon.
Ayoade's influences aren't just in the film; they seem to actually comprise the film. The set design is ripped off from 1984 (all retro 1940s styling) , the intrusive whooshing sound effects are from Eraserhead and the lighting is also David Lynch-lite. This is all (unoriginal) style and no substance. It's like a film studies student's end of year project but feature-length.
I stuck it out for an hour but it just did not get any better. It did make me want to read the book but that's about all. Avoid.
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Comments
Best scene in the film is when both Jesse's are in the diner ordering food. That was a cracker lol.
Y'see, that scene just didn't work for me at all. As you say, it's a key scene where the ineffectualness of Simon is juxtaposed with the charm and effectiveness of James and it just falls flatter than a 'comedy' moment in Eastenders.
Personally i found it quite funny to be honest. It'll probably be a marmite film for anyone who sees it. The critics on The Review Show didn't seem to make much of it either.
i find jesse eisenberg quite hot in a strange way
He kinda reminded me of Simon Amstell's better-looking brother, for some reason...
The reviews I've seen have been very polarised. Peter Bradshaw rates it highly:
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/apr/03/the-double-review-richard-ayoade
but my own feelings are more in line with Ryan Gilbey in New Statesman:
http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2014/04/case-homage-overload-double-richard-ayoade