The Double

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UK Release Date: April 4th 2014

A clerk in a government agency finds his unenviable life takes a turn for the horrific with the arrival of a new co-worker who is both his exact physical double and his opposite - confident, charismatic and seductive with women.

Director: Richard Ayoade (Submarine)

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Mia Wasikowska, Wallace Shawn

The Double is an odd, odd film. So odd it needed to be said thrice. If you're familiar with Richard Ayoade's previous work (The IT Crowd, Submarine, Garth Marenghi's Dark Place) then you'll know what to expect. For those who don't, Ayoade has one of the driest senses of humour around. It'll have you either in fits of laughter or thinking of tumbleweeds blowing along a desert trail. The Double is reminiscent of Arthouse Cinema; a low budget offers more to the imagination, it's not aimed at a large audience due to it's odd story, and the events that occur take place in one location: an open office. Simon James (Eisenberg) is a worker at this number crunching hell-hole. He's boring, very shy and life is pretty much against him. He's worked for this data analysis company for many years but has daily run-ins with the security officer because his key-card doesn't work. He's in love with the copy room worker, blah (Wasikowska), but has neither the confidence or the charm to seduce her. Enter James Simon (also Eisenberg), an employee that's the exact opposite in personality but the exact same in looks. The hardest part is working out if Ayoade is taking us along the Fight Club route or taking a direction of his own. Rest assured, The Double holds plenty of originality; enough for us to see it through its eerie end.

3/5