★★★★

The Double (2013)

Written by Dalton Welsh - December 1, 2020

While Richard Ayoade has shined in his comedy outings including the likes of sitcoms ‘The IT Crowd’ and ‘Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace’ you can feel his true creative expression through his film directing. After an excellent directing debut in 2010’s “Submarine” Ayoade expanded his filmography with his 2013 film “The Double” a film which makes one wish he would direct more. Telling the story of a shy office worker named Simon who finds himself in disarray when a seeming clone of himself joins the company and begins to usurp his life. With an intriguing dystopian setting, boldly stark and claustrophobic cinematography, an empathetic protagonist and a minimalist but impactful score, Ayoade brings us another unorthodox project befitting of his creative identity.

The setting of the film is a vaguely dystopian society reminiscent to that of Terry Gilliam’s ‘Brazil’, mostly in terms of its exterior. With the characters living quarters being small sparse apartments and the workplace merely a conglomeration of cubicles. And while in Gilliam’s case he presented this both in the story and style as an intentionally grotesque and broad satire of the plights and misgivings of corporate culture, Ayoade instead has a more personal thematic position in mind. Focusing more on the struggles of an individual desperately seeking recognition and purpose within his life where others have seemingly found their place in the world, stylistically more reminiscent of say Yorgos Lanthimos in a more grounded but still unorthodox starkness. This dystopian setting allows for the surrounding environment to morph more effectively to the feelings of our protagonist, that being its aura of depression and a lack of progression.

This idea of the environment reflecting our protagonists’ plight is further strengthened by the production’s accompanying cinematography. Not only are there a limited number of locations all of which consisting largely of bare and narrow corridors or compacted operating areas, but the film is frequently shot with close ups to enhance the suffocating feeling of our protagonist. As if the very act of living were claustrophobic. This also makes the sparing scenes of more fluid motion and wider shots all the more eventful, and clear in their emotional and thematic intent. Another one of the key visual strengths of the film is its lighting, there is a heavy use of strong intense lights which in turn creates deep shadows. The intensity of both the light and its contrast with the shadows heightens the anxiety of the film, almost as if a spotlight is being shone upon you for interrogation. But then for the scenes where the protagonist Simon doesn’t feel this anxiety as strongly the lighting is detensified.
The character of Simon, of which the technical elements of the film revolve, while at times can feel exaggeratedly socially inept, it never feels cartoonish and works within the more stylised environment the film is set. In the film he is challenged by a clone of himself who begins to show interest in a woman with whom he has a crush on. And his clone, named James, is personality wise, the complete inverse of Simon, being confident to a fault, particularly when it comes to talking to women. This quickly draws attention to James being Simon’s idealised version of himself, and his disdain he begins to show towards him shows a multi-layered sense of both external-hatred and internal hatred, given that both versions of his hatred are towards some version of himself. The confusion that Simon feels and the way his self-loathing has escalated even further with the arrival of James generates a real empathy with his character. Both roles performed intricately and convincingly by Jesse Eisenberg, who does a great job of portraying our sympathetic protagonist and loathsome arrogant antagonist. 

Finally, the film also makes great use of music. The original composition by Andrew Hewitt making use of some inventive sounds like making use of footsteps and the seeming sound of machinery to mimic the rigid landscape and the inner frustrations of Simon. There is also a frequent use of pianos and violins, with their use minimalist but still greatly impactful, befitting of, and marrying perfectly with, the strong lighting of the cinematography. Memorable and bold, they truly aid in both building tension and portraying the emotion of the scene.

Ultimately, the film’s dystopian setting radiates a stilted feeling of depression and an ever-present sense of claustrophobia and anxiety, highlighted by frequent close ups and the pairing of intense light with deep shadow. All informed by the protagonist Simon’s inner turmoil, shown internally in Eisenberg’s excellent performance of Simon and externally through his equally impressive portrayal of the antagonist James. All of which brought together by the minimalist, but still inventive and impactful score.