Director: Denis Villeneuve
Starring: Jake Gyllenhal, Melanie Laurent, Sarah Gadon, Isabella Rossellini
Rating: Rated R for strong sexual content, graphic nudity and language
A man seeks out his exact look-alike after spotting him in a movie.
Initial Reaction:
"Prisoners" last year was one of the most surprising films I had the chance of seeing. It was a tense, suspenseful film built on great story and directing so when I heard that "Prisoners" director Denis Villeneuve had another movie coming out just 6 months after "Prisoners" and starring "Prisoners" lead Jake Gyllenhal I was definitely excited. I didn't know much about "Enemy" until I saw the first trailer for the film back in January and was hooked. Even though their is a book to the film, I decided to go in blind before reading the book because I wanted to see Villeneueve's film first before reading the novel to get his interpretation of the work. According to IMDB the film was suppose to come out February 6th online but I was never able to find it until I saw that Direct TV was showing it on PPV and I was finally able to watch it and the film definitely lived up to my expectations. The film is definitely a mind-bender with great performances and great directing from Villeneuve whose fastly becoming one of my favorite directors. The only problem with the film is with the third act the film kind of just falls off and doesn't offer any real conclusion but you can't deny the enjoyment of the ride presented in front of you.
"Prisoners" last year was one of the most surprising films I had the chance of seeing. It was a tense, suspenseful film built on great story and directing so when I heard that "Prisoners" director Denis Villeneuve had another movie coming out just 6 months after "Prisoners" and starring "Prisoners" lead Jake Gyllenhal I was definitely excited. I didn't know much about "Enemy" until I saw the first trailer for the film back in January and was hooked. Even though their is a book to the film, I decided to go in blind before reading the book because I wanted to see Villeneueve's film first before reading the novel to get his interpretation of the work. According to IMDB the film was suppose to come out February 6th online but I was never able to find it until I saw that Direct TV was showing it on PPV and I was finally able to watch it and the film definitely lived up to my expectations. The film is definitely a mind-bender with great performances and great directing from Villeneuve whose fastly becoming one of my favorite directors. The only problem with the film is with the third act the film kind of just falls off and doesn't offer any real conclusion but you can't deny the enjoyment of the ride presented in front of you.
Plot: (4/5)
The plot of this film is going to be pretty hard to explain without getting into spoilers so I am going to do my best to avoid them and give you the gist of the plot. From the trailer you see that Gyllenhal is recommended a movie from a colleague at work and while watching the film discovers a guy that looks exactly like him in the movie. This puts him on a dangerous course to find the doppelganger in the movie. Right from the beginning this film starts messing with your head and doesn't give up. Putting us in the life of these two people is very intriguing and seeing how they play off each other and the people in their life is almost feels so real its uncomfortable at some points. I find that the best type of film when the people behind the film can create a tenseness in you from the beginning that makes you uncomfortable at some points. It's when the film becomes too mind-bending that it started to falter for me, not enough to discredit the film really but to notice some holes in the story. The film ends ambiguously (I don't think that spoiler if it is sorry) and I don't mind a film doing that but a lot of cases with films that do that you still feel some closure to draw your own conclusion with the story but with "Enemy" I don't even know if I can draw my own conclusions after that ending, some will see that as a good thing and some want.
The plot of this film is going to be pretty hard to explain without getting into spoilers so I am going to do my best to avoid them and give you the gist of the plot. From the trailer you see that Gyllenhal is recommended a movie from a colleague at work and while watching the film discovers a guy that looks exactly like him in the movie. This puts him on a dangerous course to find the doppelganger in the movie. Right from the beginning this film starts messing with your head and doesn't give up. Putting us in the life of these two people is very intriguing and seeing how they play off each other and the people in their life is almost feels so real its uncomfortable at some points. I find that the best type of film when the people behind the film can create a tenseness in you from the beginning that makes you uncomfortable at some points. It's when the film becomes too mind-bending that it started to falter for me, not enough to discredit the film really but to notice some holes in the story. The film ends ambiguously (I don't think that spoiler if it is sorry) and I don't mind a film doing that but a lot of cases with films that do that you still feel some closure to draw your own conclusion with the story but with "Enemy" I don't even know if I can draw my own conclusions after that ending, some will see that as a good thing and some want.
Directing: (4.5/5)
After the success of "Prisoners' it was strange to see Denis Villeneuve go to a more low budget independent film, but after seeing the film it is clear that his style of film making was perfect for the movie. The shots and style of the film reflect the life of the characters in the movie that are dreary, depressing, and repetitive. He uses his directing to add another layer of this film to reflect what these characters are experiencing internally. With a 90 minute runtime, the film didn't feel rushed and moved at a good pace that at the end you were still wanting more which is always a sign of good film making. What he benefited a lot having in "Prisoners" was Roger Deakins for cinemtoagraphy which is always an added bonus for any film but he still did a good job of adapting the novel which the film is based on.
Acting: (4/5)
Jake Gyllenhal is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors. With turns in films such as "Source Code", "End of Watch", "Zodiac", and "Prisoners" it seems that Gyllenhal is always starring in good movies and giving great performances and "Enemy" might be close to one of his best. Having to play two very different characters and be able to show the audience which was which is not easy to do and he really made each character feel like a real person, helping entice us more into the narrative. The film also features supporting work from Melanie Laurent, Sarah Gadon, and Isabella Rosellini, but this is pretty much Gyllenhal's film with only Gadon being the only one to have a real character in the film. Her character was kind of an enigma to me. I'm not really sure what her character was and don't know how to compare the performance to it but I can't deny that her story intrigued me almost as much as Gyllenhal's by the end. Overall the acting was really good in this movie especially from Jake Gyllenhal and Sarah Gadon and part of me wishes that the rest of the cast would have been given a little bit more to do but I understand the time constraints with a 90 run time.
Jake Gyllenhal is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors. With turns in films such as "Source Code", "End of Watch", "Zodiac", and "Prisoners" it seems that Gyllenhal is always starring in good movies and giving great performances and "Enemy" might be close to one of his best. Having to play two very different characters and be able to show the audience which was which is not easy to do and he really made each character feel like a real person, helping entice us more into the narrative. The film also features supporting work from Melanie Laurent, Sarah Gadon, and Isabella Rosellini, but this is pretty much Gyllenhal's film with only Gadon being the only one to have a real character in the film. Her character was kind of an enigma to me. I'm not really sure what her character was and don't know how to compare the performance to it but I can't deny that her story intrigued me almost as much as Gyllenhal's by the end. Overall the acting was really good in this movie especially from Jake Gyllenhal and Sarah Gadon and part of me wishes that the rest of the cast would have been given a little bit more to do but I understand the time constraints with a 90 run time.
Replay Ability/Recommendation: (3.5/5)
My score for the recommendation of this film is low for a couple of reasons, the first being that the film will leave you cold at the end and if you want answers with your films than this isn't the film for you. The second reason I lowered the score in this section is because a film like this thrives on the ability to replay it and discover new things upon viewings but I honestly don't know if you can figure this out upon viewings because the film is told so loosely. If you draw your own conclusions or if you read the book "The Double" which the film is based on than the film can work better on some levels. I can see the film dividing a lot of people upon viewings. Overall, "Enemy" has a lot of positives to it. It has great acting, directing, and a very intriguing plot. The only thing the film could have benefited from was a tighter narrative and a few answers to satisfy the audience, but I can't deny the enjoyment I had watching this film I can't wait to see what Denis Villeneuve gives us next.
My score for the recommendation of this film is low for a couple of reasons, the first being that the film will leave you cold at the end and if you want answers with your films than this isn't the film for you. The second reason I lowered the score in this section is because a film like this thrives on the ability to replay it and discover new things upon viewings but I honestly don't know if you can figure this out upon viewings because the film is told so loosely. If you draw your own conclusions or if you read the book "The Double" which the film is based on than the film can work better on some levels. I can see the film dividing a lot of people upon viewings. Overall, "Enemy" has a lot of positives to it. It has great acting, directing, and a very intriguing plot. The only thing the film could have benefited from was a tighter narrative and a few answers to satisfy the audience, but I can't deny the enjoyment I had watching this film I can't wait to see what Denis Villeneuve gives us next.
Now Available on Direct TV PPV
Opens Limited, March 14th
Final Grade: 4/5 (A-)(Full Price)
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