Sunday, March 8, 2015

Enemy


Directed by Denis Villeneuve.
2014. Rated R, 90 minutes.
Cast:
Jake Gyllenhaal
Melanie Laurent
Sarah Gadon
Isabella Rossellini
Kedar Brown
Stephen R. Hart
Joshua Peace
Jane Moffat

We've all watched one of those movies. I mean the ones that leave us sitting there dumbfounded for a few minutes after they end. If you watched with someone else, you both look at each other with your WTF faces. You might even say what your faces do. One of the self-beneficial things about being a movie blogger is that even if no one reads a particular review, writing it affords me another way to figure out a particularly confusing film. If I don't get it right away, I can write my way through it. This doesn't guarantee I'll solve the puzzle, but I'll feel better about it. This is where I am with Enemy.

Since I'm going to try and figure it out as I go, might as well start at the beginning. No worries, I'm not on the way to spoiling the movie. It's just a good place to start. There, we meet Adam (Gyllenhaal), a college professor with a fairly ho-hum existence and loves his live-in girlfriend Mary (Laurent). At the urging of a colleague, he watches a particular movie. During this viewing, his world is understandably rocked when he spots an actor in a tiny role who looks exactly like him. I don't mean someone who looks similar, but exactly alike, as if he's staring into a mirror. He then does what I would've done and goes out of his way to find out who this person is. He goes another step, one which I'm not so sure I'd take and finds out where the dude lives. He even goes so far as to contact this guy. It might take me years to work up enough courage for this, but he does it all in pretty short order. The guy's name is Anthony (also Gyllenhaal) and as expected, he's kind of disturbed yet intrigued by this turn of events. Aside from being a B-movie actor, he's married with a pregnant wife, Helen (Gadon). The two men embark on a very odd game of cat-and-mouse. In fact, it's a little while before either one of them realizes they're even playing it. It's even longer before either of the women in their lives figure out what's going on.

As the movie progresses, it grows increasingly fascinating. Initially, we're drawn by a question I've already alluded to. What would I do in the same situation? Weighing their decisions against what we think our own would be carries us through the early parts of the film. We are simply intrigued by their choices. Eventually, the movie morphs into a thriller. At this point, our two leads are no longer just compelled by the other, but pitted against that person. One assumes the role of the hero, the other the villain.


Is it really so simple? Are we just meant to choose sides and root for the good guy? No. Something deeper is going on here. My first thought is that it's something akin to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and exploration of man's duality. Even this is densely layered, though. Neither side of a person is purely good or evil, but a product of the decisions he/she makes. This truth holds in regard to these two gentlemen. They're both normal guys under extraordinary circumstances making life altering decisions on the fly. As the situation escalates so does the pressure on them to make choices beneficial to them and/or their significant other. In that sense, it's a study on how people react in crisis. See? This isn't simple, but it's not daunting, either. Star Jake Gyllenhaal aids in this by delivering two distinct and excellent performances. As the college professor, he's a guy who mostly keeps to himself and tries to stay within his comfort zone. He's easily rattled when something out of the ordinary happens. In the small-time actor role, he's much more alpha-male, confident and macho. Obviously, the two characters are written to be different, even dressed that way. The reason it works, however, is because of Gyllenaal's efforts. He uses an entirely different demeanor and body language for each. Remarkably, he does so without rendering either guy as mere caricature. Denis Villeneuve's directing sets an appropriately somber mood. Though I commend it for not spoon-feeding us, it can be too cryptic. He spends the entirety of the film twisting our brains this way and that.

Not until the very end is our mind bent completely out of shape. It's a finale that's both as abrupt and startling as it is confounding. When the credits start rolling we've no choice but to immediately start trying to figure out what it all means. Our first inclination is to delve into our knowledge of symbolism. How could we not? We're zealously invited to by something begging to be analyzed. And we try, after getting over the initial shock of what it is we see. Around and around we go, trying to make sense of it. We even replay the entire thing in our head. And...I got nothing. There is little doubt that you are smarter than I, good reader, and have come up with your own sound interpretation. Therefore, I have no problem admitting I took to the internet to see what others thought. One, slate.com, purports Enemy to be about people unknowingly living in a totalitarian state similar to Invasion of the Body Snatchers. A thread over at reddit.com, suggests that the entire thing plays out in the subconscious of one of our two leads. The blog Shot on 35 suggest that Enemy deals with a fear of commitment on the part of one character with a split personality. Which one do I agree with most? I dunno. They all have their pros and cons that make them both plausible and dubious. Whenever you see it, tell me what you make of it. If you've already seen it tell me now.

12 comments:

  1. I'll be back to read this review after I see the movie. :-)

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  2. Awesome review! I think I had to physically close my mouth at the end of the credits, I was so shocked and confused. I then spent on hour on the net scouring different theories. I'm just waiting for Jenna to see this and our review will be posted!
    - Allie

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    1. That's exactly what happened to me. I was completely bewildered. I wasn't even sure if I liked it or not.

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  3. I've seen this one but honestly I still don't know what to make of this. I did read some stuff afterwards and there are so many theories whether it's all a dream & what have you, makes my head spin. Like you said, it's waaay too cryptic for me. Besides, hard to get that giant spider image out of my head, eww!! Gyllehaal was indeed excellent here though.

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    1. Yup, my head is definitely spinning. So many theories out there, most with their merits. Just can't wrap my head around it all. Honestly, that noise is harder to forget for me than that damn spider, lol.

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  4. Great post, Dell.

    What puzzled me the most, was the simple fact that I f--king loved this movie....and had no idea what to make of it. I'm not someone who scours the internet looking for explanations (something I considered after watching Primer), well, not anymore, but I was certainly tempted here. Instead, I just kicked it around in my own head for days until I couldn't stand it any more and threw in the towel. This is one I wished I could have seen in a crowded theater, only to hear fifty people say what the f--k simultaneously.

    At home, my wife and I just stared at each other.

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    1. I usually don't go looking for answers online, either, but this was kicking my ass so I had to see what others thought. I can only imagine experiencing this in a crowded theater. I'm picturing a lot of bewildered looks and incredulous conversations held by couples on their way to the exit. Maybe someone would even demand their money back. Hmmm, I can see it.

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  5. Here's my analysis if you are interested - http://cinematiccorner.blogspot.com/2014/04/enemy-review-analysis.html

    I get how you feel, the movie almost broke my brain

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    1. Yes, my brain is almost broken. I will definitely check out your post.

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  6. What did you think of Sarah Gadon's performance? I thought she was even better than Gyllenhaal!

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    1. Don't know if I'd go far as to say she was better than JG, but she was excellent.

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