The Double (2014) Movie Review

So... I have kind of repealed the title of April to now just be April. I have changed Superhero Month to Superhero Marathon. I try to review every film I watch and it is difficult to watch only superhero movies with no discrepancies. So now I will just eventually and as fast as I can get to the point where I have reviewed every superhero movie I have on DVD. So yeah.

It is a very weird place, in a very weird time and Simon James is right in the middle of it. He is likely the least assertive or charismatic person to have ever seen the light of day and just can’t get what he wants. One day, a man who looks just like Simon James, James Simon, begins working at the very same place as Simon James. The similarities between the two men start and end at appearance. James Simon is the utter polar opposite of Simon James. James is funny, likeable and charismatic and Simon is… not. It turns out that James is kind of trying to steal Simon’s life.

The first thing that strikes you about this movie is Jesse Eisenberg. Not only does he play two people (kind of) but also he is fantastic at it. In the movie he is supposedly playing two sides of the same person while the more extroverted is becoming increasingly prevalent. Sometimes you just sit and think, “this must have been really awkward to film because there are a lot of scenes where Jesse Eisenberg talks to Jesse Eisenberg.” I was thinking this too during most of the movie. This aspect doesn’t impede the movie however; it merely makes it more impressive. The fact that a movie can convince me that there are two separate characters, played by the same person, in the same clothes is incredible. The potentially awkward scenes with two Eisenbergs are executed with such immaculate fluidity and it is just beautiful to watch.

The major thing in the movie that wasn’t so fantastic was that there were a lot of things that went unexplained throughout the entire movie. For instance, why was the girl drawing things and ripping them up? Why was Jesse Eisenberg getting these from a vent? There were just loads of things that went unexplained.

‘The Double’ is an odd method of showing on the way Simon James tries to turn himself into a better person. The acting and stylised nature of the movie was incredible despite the fact that some of the themes in the movie were difficult to explain. If you enjoy movies that really make you think and are… different, then this movie is most certainly for you. It is enthralling and entertaining from start to finish.