Enemy

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Melanie Laurent, Sarah Gadon, Isabella Rossellini
Directed by: Denis Villeneuve
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
2014

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A college professor (Jake Gyllenhaal) sees his exact lookalike in a movie and starts to seek him out.

Review:

Tim: Enemy is not a movie for everyone. There will undoubtedly be a segment of the audience that absolutely hates this film. It is incredibly inaccessible and offers no real answers. I admit, by the end of the film, I was completely confused. This is a movie that speaks volumes in imagery, but leaves it to the audience to figure out what it all meant. I picked up on a number of meanings behind the imagery, but I admit there were others that just left me scratching my head (I had some inkling, but wondered what the hell was up with the spiders?).

After watching the movie, I watched a 24 minute video on the internet that talked through the meaning behind the film. Let that sink in for a second. It took someone 24 minutes to explain what happened in a 90 minute movie. That gives you a sense about how dense and complex this movie is. After watching the video, I felt like I had a much better sense of the movie and what it all meant (and was able to confirm some of my suspicions). It is hard to watch a movie so complex that offers up almost no satisfactory answers. However, the intellectual side of my brain loves playing in this mental playground, trying to figure out what it all meant.

Once you realize how the pieces fit together, it is somewhat brilliant what director Denis Villeneuve was able to pull off. The film starts out with a fascinating premise- what if you saw someone who looked exactly like you? The sheer insanity of that premise is interesting and early on, I was very intrigued by the mystery of it all. The fact that Jake Gyllenhaal confronts his doppelganger is a very, very exciting idea. While that constitutes the very cool hook of the story, the actual movie is about much deeper ideas. This is really a film about a man struggling with commitment and the sense that he is trapped in his relationship. Those are dark themes, but they are real. I like how the film blended the immediately cool with the deeply interesting.

The cast was good, but this film is really about Jake Gyllenhaal and his two very different roles. I've always liked Gyllenhaal and it was nice seeing him here, where he could showcase some of his talent. He plays the mild-mannered college professor well, but really shines as the supremely confident actor. It was fun seeing these two sides to his acting talent, especially during the few scenes where he shares the screen with himself. Melanie Laurent and Sarah Gadon were fine, but they were minor players in a film all about Gyllenhaal.

I do want to mention the final scene of the film, which is shocking and horrifying (in a surprisingly safe) way. If you gave me 30 hours, I probably wouldn't have been able to predict the final scene (or the look on his face). It is perplexing, unexpected, and instantly unforgettable. For many viewers, it will mean nothing at all. It's only upon further review and deeper research will it make good sense.

If you like a very metaphysical, ambiguous, unexpected story, then Enemy is definitely worth checking out. I was intellectually stimulated by the craziness of the story and the obvious symbolism throughout the film. As a viewing experience, though, the film is so obtuse and impenetrable that it'll be a turn off for many viewers. Yes, if you work hard at it, it all does make sense, but it certainly took a great deal of extra effort on my part. This is a movie that connects well with the head, but forgets to touch the heart. In the end, I did enjoy Enemy, but I would be very, very careful about who I recommended it to.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Prisoners, Mulholland Drive