kaja2309 Pretty much this like serbian movie "Enemy" 1965. ("Neprijatelj")...both based on Dostoyevsky but this one is not my favorite choice

Laura Alonso Engaging, witty, whimsical, has a melange of all tones in the right measure (sad, cheery, humorous, dramatic, romantic (but not corny), noir). It has a similar visual style to the series "Pushing Daisies" and shares connections with Wes Anderson's cinematography, but with a sad tone lining the film, the director maintians his own style. Just as a great horror film director manifests with characters on screen that embody our incomplete fears from nighmares, Richard Ayoade captures what we romanticise when we have a feeling of longing, joy or admiration but don't directly think about it. The actors are lovely and gave a great performance, they achieve the aforementioned Wes Anderson style, fairytale-like yet stil natural. It's incredible how well performed Simon (main charater) is and how it's possible that Jason ("the double") is coming from the same body/person.The film does not have a cheap feeling, nor that of a grand hollywood production, but that's exactly what makes it perfect, it adds to the setting. I was supprised at how well mended the plot was, I thought it would only be possible to live up to the synopsis if it had constant supernatural fenomena but it doesn't, you have to watch it to see the beautiful story they weave.Personal note: This film made me feel inspired because it was so well made, very aspect of it touched me. The characters and actors, especially the mimetisation of Jesse's and Mia's performance, and the character growth of Simon made me admire them and think about personalities and actions outside of the story, in this world and in my life. I haven't watched the director's other films yet but I expect to have the same feeling with them (I already get the same feeling of cheerful wistfulness simply with Submarine's trailers!, which has been on my list for quite a while now).

livemeyer-41359 Jesse Eisenberg heartily devours the dual-role of Simon and James in director Richard Ayoade's The Double. He is a treat to watch, beginning to end. Unfortunately, he is the only reason I watched to the end. Simon is the type of person nobody sees or cares about, in an unglamorous, quasi-dystopian post-modern future-past office, reminiscent of (read: stolen from) Terry Gilliam's Brazil. Simon is not a clown; he's a serious, honest, hard-working individual, but is essentially an uninteresting, unimportant and invisible person. His fate is worse than that of a person that bad things happen to, because nothing happens to him. Security, his boss, the girl he likes, even inanimate objects like the subway and the elevator do not see him or respond to him. When James, the new-hire, arrives at the office, Simon's world is turned upside down. Suddenly James is noticed for all the hard work Simon has been doing for years; girls see the same face, and are attracted to James but still ignore Simon. As James becomes more ingrained in the office and wins the approval of his superiors and associates, the more Simon is seen as less worthy. And of course, the girl of Simon's dreams can't see him for who he really is when James is in the spotlight. It's time for drastic action, if only he can summon the requisite bravery, and can solve the puzzle he's put himself in. People's opinions of him are much harder to sway when his carbon-copy is the better him in every way.And this is where director Richard Ayoade falls flat. Through terrific lighting and exacting shots and specific manipulation of plot pieces, he fails to distinguish Simon from James in the most meaningful way: to the other characters around them. Though it is much more than a wink at the duality of our own existence as ego (what we see ourselves as) and objective (how others see us), it is near impossible to understand how not only do the other co-workers not see the two as identical in appearance (and not discuss this) but also how they see them as wholly different individuals, character-wise. This allows James to somehow con everyone into believing bad acts he committed were done by Simon, and good acts Simon did were his. The crux of the film lies on this point: that because nobody sees him, Simon must be the one to own all negative character aspects. As Simon works harder to establish himself as the good character, he becomes less so. There is so much psychology going on here it is difficult to put into words. Far more challenging is for the director trying to put it into images. From the opening scene it is very obvious that the director is sending a strong message. It is this omnipresent stamp on every scene, every shot, that doesn't allow the movie to breathe. There is no build up and release, just one depressing scene after another. Poor Simon can't catch a break, and neither can we. While the deliberate use of lighting and color is excellent and contributes to the mood, it seems rigueure du jour and the colors don't seem to set a tone or create a style. Music selections are unusual and offbeat, but not interesting enough, and no consistent style emerges from the selections. Also deliberate is the underdevelopment of all secondary characters. We know nothing of Mia Wasikowska's character, except to accept that she's lonely like Simon. We know none of the office's other characters, save the supervisor, and he's as two dimensional as cardboard - as is the security guard, the investigators, the copy manager, and Simon's mother. It's sad that as robust as Jesse Eisenburg has filled in the characters of Simon and James, the rest of this world is two- dimensional. While The Double has two of the main thing, it has too little of anything else to sustain it.

levis-06695 This is that kind of movie in which you need to read impressions more than pay attention on talks and scenes to understand its meaning for real. Richard Ayoade was really smart on the using of colors, dark scenarios contrasting to colored lights accordingly to humors, also, in complicated dialogues among characters. I enjoyed so much. The main characters, which are a double played by Jesse Eisenberg, show us the conflict within a person, the different ways a person can act or react to different situations, and the response other people may answer accordingly personality who acts . Sometimes you realize they are the same person, sometimes you think they are not. The main cast is formed mainly by young people, however, you see many many elderly people in this movie, maybe a reference of judgment and wisdom that old people may do towards the younger, once you remember the place of work, on the movie, is a government agency. Suicide, loneliness, and depression are also subjects in this entire environment. If you like those "easy" films in which signification is clear, you won't enjoy it, however, if you like psychological conflict, and dialogues meaning more than what characters say, you will find it a good movie.