MIRROR, MIRROR // A FILM REVIEW OF "ENEMY"
Director Denis Villeneuve’s recent film Prisoners brought new light not only to a well worn genre of revenge films, but to actor Jake Gyllenhaal as well. Villeneuve managed to guide Gyllenhaal to a performance that we had never seen from him: a darker, layered, twisted take on a gritty Detective who has always solved the case. The duo has now re-teamed for yet another twisted dark tale, an adaptation of José Saramago’s trippy novel ENEMY. Gyllenhaal plays Adam Bell, a history professor in Toronto. He seems to be sleepwalking through life, giving lectures that seem uninspired and mundane, going home to have unpassionate sex with his girlfriend (played by Sarah Gadon) who immediately leaves afterwards. Life is dull and ordinary for Bell until during lunch one day a coworker tells him about a movie he saw recently. He recommends it to Bell and so he picks up the DVD and watches it. Suddenly he spots someone: the bellhop, played by an actor who looks exactly like him. He soon becomes obsessed with finding him and when he does, the story begins to twist and turn in unsettling ways (Gyllenhaal also plays the actor he tracks down).
Villeneuve works from a twisty and crafty script he co-authored with Javier Gullón to great effect. The film slinks and eerily shifts along with two great, dark performances by Gyllenhaal. Over and over, the film makes you ask: who are the two people? Are they twins? Is one imaginary? Is this all in his head? Or perhaps something all together stranger? Everyone is game for the weirdness, especially Gyllenhaal who turns in performances that are both layered and very different. Mélanie Laurent also impresses as the actor’s very pregnant wife who doesn’t quite trust her own husband and is drawn to knowing more about this mysterious man who looks just like her husband. Even if you don’t follow all of it (and you probably won’t), Enemy will keep you hooked right up the very last WTF moment in the end. No spoilers here, but it’s a final shot that both confuses, entertainns, and stumps the hell out of you. It is a true head scratcher in every single way.
MATEO’S GRADE: A-
Directed by: Denis Villeneuve Screenplay by: Denis Villeneuve, Javier Gullón Based on the novel by: José Saramago Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Mélanie Laurent, Sarah Gadon Rated R: Adult Language, Sexual Situations, Violence, Nudity
BOTTOM LINE: In true David Cronenberg and David Lynch fashion, Enemy dazzles you and keep you from ever truly knowing what's going on. A facinating feature.