The Double (2014)

Director: Richard Ayoade

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Mia Wasikowska

Premièred in 2013 at the Toronto Film Festival, released in the UK on April 4th 2014

Simon James (Eisenberg) is an unnoticeable member of society working for a data processing company and barely remembered by most of the people he passes. His life changes when James Simon (also Eisenberg) joins the company. A man who looks exactly the same as him but with a polar opposite personality, who swiftly achieves so much more than he ever has, especially when it comes to pretty coworker Hannah (Wasikowska). This darkly comedic thriller follows what happens as Simon feels himself slipping further and further from the life he wants.

Jesse Eisenberg has spent a good chunk of his career being typecast, typically playing the nervous, shy, young, bumbling misfit. It's made it difficult to truly invest in him in some cases as there's frequently little distinction between his roles; how can you care about a character you've seen multiple times before. To begin with I was worried this was more of the same but as the story progressed and the doppelgänger came into play, it threw the whole thing on its head.

What director Ayoade does so well is building Simon James not through his initial appearance, but through the compounding reactions to the threat of his better self. A slight smile here, a seemingly blank expression there; simple understated moments that you take in without realising, that help you gain a better understanding of his motives as they develop.

The subtlety was not just saved for Simon with the differences between him and Jamesshowing not just through but how they hold themselves, the ways they work and interact with the other characters. Every moment on screen sets them apart as establishes them as extremely different people despite being the exact same actor.

It would have been so easy to over-saturate the film's soundtrack, drowning it out with pop-culture music that disconnects from the film. Instead it uses music masterfully to establish tone, merging it with the moments and the transitions seamlessly. It blurs the line between what's diegetic and non-diegetic drawing you into the world and encouraging you to question everything. Similarly, the comedy stays simple and deliciously dark, allowing the central message to breathe instead of getting overwhelmed.

Overall the film is clever without condescension, giving you everything you need to know without spoon-feeding you, encouraging you to sit with after the credits and think for yourself.