Being type-casted has got to be one of the worse things that can happen to an actor or actress. If you need a strong, bossy lead female, cast Sandra Bullock. If you need an awkward indie teen, cast Michael Cera. I had thought Jesse Eisenberg had fallen into this unfortunate category as the mumbly, nervous guy, but after seeing him play two roles in one film as his doppelganger in The Double, I was impressed by his ability to do a 180.
He starts the movie as the type-cast I usually I saw of him, so for the first 10 minutes, I questioned abandoning it. We follow him on his course to work, all the while seeing instances of his shy, pushover character. A man approaches Eisenberg's character Simon James on the nearly empty public train and tells him that he's in his seat. A little flustered, Simon looks around nervously before standing up and handing over his seat. As he's exiting the train, he's unable to get out an "Excuse Me" to the men blocking the doorway. When he finally reaches security outside his work, he's unable to get in when his card doesn't work and the guard doesn't recognize him even though he claims to have worked for the company for over 7 years. This film is set in a dingy alternate world and Simon works as some kind of information processor and is the only employee under 50. There's one other girl at the office who isn't and Simon spends a good chunk of his time watching her and trying to say something but never really getting it out. Simon's life is passing by in the most monotonous way possible and after witnessing a man wave to him before jumping to his death, he realizes that being lonely could be a terrible thing. At work, a new employee is introduced, the strikingly similar James Simon. James is everything that Simon is not: he's confident, strong-willed, and kind of rude. When James begins to win the heart of Simon's crush, Simon is faced with the cold fact that he could be so much better than he is.
This film is categorized under Netflix as Film Noir, and although I see elements of it, I wouldn't go as far to say that it really is. The film plays heavily on light and shadows, often keeping the scenes dimly lit. The opening sequence of the film features the light peeping in through the windows of a moving train on Simon's face. This causes his face to flash on and off screen, an eerie effect that was foreshadowing his later encounter with James. The film lacked the fast-paced dialogue that film noir is known for, probably because the leading character was too afraid to speak half the time. That was another common Film Noir trait that the film lacked. Normally the leading male is strong-headed and confident, neither of which Simon portrays. This movie was more of a dark comedy, some parts with enough suspense to make me fear a pop-up was coming and other very satirical and funny.
Although I liked this film, I found parts of it to be very confusing. There are very long sequences without any dialogue and once the doppelganger is introduced, no explanations can get pretty confusing. In scenes where James and Simon were together or fighting, they were often dressed the same too, and it would become hard to tell who was who. Other movies that have done the whole one actor play two parts, like The Parent Trap, did a better job of differentiating the characters by making it clear who was speaking. I give this movie 3/5 flames because it has an interesting plot and overall creative view to the shots, but I found myself able to guess many of the outcomes even through my confusion. I'd still recommend this movie though because it is interesting to see Jesse Eisenberg play such opposing characters.
He starts the movie as the type-cast I usually I saw of him, so for the first 10 minutes, I questioned abandoning it. We follow him on his course to work, all the while seeing instances of his shy, pushover character. A man approaches Eisenberg's character Simon James on the nearly empty public train and tells him that he's in his seat. A little flustered, Simon looks around nervously before standing up and handing over his seat. As he's exiting the train, he's unable to get out an "Excuse Me" to the men blocking the doorway. When he finally reaches security outside his work, he's unable to get in when his card doesn't work and the guard doesn't recognize him even though he claims to have worked for the company for over 7 years. This film is set in a dingy alternate world and Simon works as some kind of information processor and is the only employee under 50. There's one other girl at the office who isn't and Simon spends a good chunk of his time watching her and trying to say something but never really getting it out. Simon's life is passing by in the most monotonous way possible and after witnessing a man wave to him before jumping to his death, he realizes that being lonely could be a terrible thing. At work, a new employee is introduced, the strikingly similar James Simon. James is everything that Simon is not: he's confident, strong-willed, and kind of rude. When James begins to win the heart of Simon's crush, Simon is faced with the cold fact that he could be so much better than he is.
This film is categorized under Netflix as Film Noir, and although I see elements of it, I wouldn't go as far to say that it really is. The film plays heavily on light and shadows, often keeping the scenes dimly lit. The opening sequence of the film features the light peeping in through the windows of a moving train on Simon's face. This causes his face to flash on and off screen, an eerie effect that was foreshadowing his later encounter with James. The film lacked the fast-paced dialogue that film noir is known for, probably because the leading character was too afraid to speak half the time. That was another common Film Noir trait that the film lacked. Normally the leading male is strong-headed and confident, neither of which Simon portrays. This movie was more of a dark comedy, some parts with enough suspense to make me fear a pop-up was coming and other very satirical and funny.
Although I liked this film, I found parts of it to be very confusing. There are very long sequences without any dialogue and once the doppelganger is introduced, no explanations can get pretty confusing. In scenes where James and Simon were together or fighting, they were often dressed the same too, and it would become hard to tell who was who. Other movies that have done the whole one actor play two parts, like The Parent Trap, did a better job of differentiating the characters by making it clear who was speaking. I give this movie 3/5 flames because it has an interesting plot and overall creative view to the shots, but I found myself able to guess many of the outcomes even through my confusion. I'd still recommend this movie though because it is interesting to see Jesse Eisenberg play such opposing characters.
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