Review of The Double (2014) by Xgary X — 10 Apr 2014

A worker drone for a stiflingly bureaucratic corporation is astonished to find that a new employee is the spitting image of himself but with the drive and self-confidence to achieve all the goals he seems unable to himself.

Richard Ayoade's follow up to the critically acclaimed Submarine is an adaptation of Dostoevsky's novella and is a strange fish indeed. The talent involved may attract an audience expecting knockabout comedy in a similar vein to their TV projects but The Double is more a kind of dark grey tragi-comedy that reminded me a lot stylistically of Terry Gilliam's Brazil.

It's not as surreal or outrageous as the ex-Python's dystopian fantasy, being a far more po-faced and gnawingly angst-ridden affair and it has shades of both Fight Club and some of David Lynch's projects in that the same character seems to inhabit different bodies.

This is no doubt because these films themselves owe a debt to the original work but it does leave the film feeling strangely familiar but not necessarily in a bad way. It's a very off-beat film and despite its similarities to other projects feels strangely unique in this age of 3D CGI infested blockbusters and Ayoade has a nice sense of visual style.

It's certainly not for those looking for a bright and breezy sit com and I occasionally felt a little baffled in the same way some of David Lynch's films left me but it's an interesting, oddball experience that leaves a lasting impression.