The Double: Amazing dissection of society

In his second feature film, Richard Ayoade builds on the ground he laid in Submarine, and the result is a deep and dark dramatic thriller with a flair of his trademark caustic humor.

The loss of one's identity...

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Ayoade has proved time and again that he is the man when it comes to extremely intelligent and witty comedy. And though he generally carries a somewhat abrasive tone, both of his feature films to date, take that characteristic to the next level, especially in The Double, where it becomes most evident. [...]

Furthermore, the script is masterful in its every aspect, written by Ayoade and Avi Korine, and based on Dostoyevsky's novel of the same name, it takes this existential plot, and turns it into an incredibly interesting and cinematic viewing experience, that is able bring a sense of joy, accompanied by intense reflection.

The Double goes far beyond just being the film about "the guy unnoticed", a man who is overly polite, even submissive, who gets overshadowed by his own lack of personality and enters a state of non-existence. It actually breaks into a much deeper realm of societal awareness, being a beautifully dark, almost sadistic, depiction of the society we currently live in.

Though it is easy to spot the influence from Wes Anderson in Ayoade's cinematography and production design, he in no way suffers from a lack of style. The film greatly plays with heavily contrasting lighting conditions to induce different feelings, ranging from the overly yellow with an occasional contrasting blue background, to the neutral foreground with a supersaturated feature in the distance, and at times even heavy red illumination. However, the invariable factor is that the whole film is lit by dim artificial lights, to convey its oppressive sensation.

However, the invariable factor is that the whole film is lit by dim artificial lights, to convey its oppressive sensation. The whole film but one scene: When Hannah realizes who Simon really is, and he ceases to be non-existent, the moment of exhilaration, that is when light is allowed in the movie, and fills the whole scene for a few seconds.

But it is not only the visual department that shines here, as The Double counts with amazing sound design, that is able to beautifully communicate the more surreal aspect of the film. Also heavily interconnected with the great sound-track.

Now, for sure, one could never talk about The Double without mentioning the incredible cast. Jesse Eisenberg, portraying the main characters, does an amazing job at their wildly different personalities. Then we have Mia Wasikowska with her undeniably captivating performance. Also, we see minor roles given to the cast of Ayoade's previous endeavor, submarine, namely Yasmin Paige, Craig Roberts, Sally Hawkins and Noah Taylor. And finally there is an appearance of Ayoade's IT Crowd cast-mate Chris O'Dowd.

What did you think of The Double? Share your thoughts in the comments bellow!