A comedy centered on a man who is driven insane by the appearance of his doppleganger.
The Double is a clever film, but despite its downtrodden hero, not a particularly empathetic experience.
Given the obvious influences on The Double, it could have felt like a facsimile of other films. Instead, it has enough individuality, imagination and idiosyncratic invention to identify it as a true original.
Ayoade’s difficult second film shows the directorial skill – and daring – of a major player, even if it can’t quite escape being swallowed by its influences.
It would be mad to let its particular genius, like its protagonist’s, go unrecognised.
Ayoade, meanwhile, successfully blends sitcom-style whimsy with images and ideas that are rich and disturbing.
It's very smart work.
I just wish the film had doubled up on substance.
Jesse Eisenberg and a strong cast bring Richard Ayoade's paranoid dystopia to life.
Existential despair is intensified by the film’s Brazil-aping retro-futuristic designs, but Ayoade never quite manages to transform this into anything particularly profound.
A cinematic experience that will haunt and delight you.
Richard Ayoade
The double act: Richard Ayoade and Jesse Eisenberg team up for Dostoevsky adaptation
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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