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You all know who Richard Ayoade is. You may not think you know, but you do. He’s been in all sorts: I.T Crowd, Garth Merenghi, The MIghty Boosh, Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy, Gadget Show, Nathan Barley, Snuff Box. Penny dropped yet? He’s not just a brilliant comic with his own inimitable physics of comic timing, The Double is the second feature he has directed.
I didn’t get around to catching this at the cinema, so was glad to be catching it on Blu-ray release. Jesse Eisenberg plays the timid, socially-awkward civil servant Simon James, a man so introverted that his colleagues barely recognise his existence. He has a restrictive routine of work, visit his mum who suffers from dementia, trip to cafe and then a session on his trusty telescope to voyeuristically observe the activities of his crush and work colleague Hannah (Mia Wasikowska).
Simon’s already inadequate existence is further exacerbated when someone who looks exactly like him starts in work, someone who is much more confident and extroverted, a hit with the ladies, who easily impresses the bosses. Simon becomes acquainted with his doppelganger and things get from bad to worse.
The Double reeks of pathos. Eisenberg is in every scene and something bad tends to happen to him in any way possible. This leads to squirmy comedy a la Curb Your Enthusiasm / Alan Partridge and some great physical comedy. The scenes involving the lift had me in particular stitches.
This is more than just a comedy. There are shades of Orwell’s 1984, The Colonel (not the KFC one) replaces big brother, the imposing paternal figure that motivates everyone to perform to the best of their abilities within the agency, whilst exercising oppressive work practices to analyse performance and punish less productive workers. Security or lack of it is a running gag/theme. Ayoade is also not afraid to tackle as difficult a subject as suicide, adding some morbid humour in the process. Not to be watched if you want cheering up, unless mucho dark humour is your cup of tea.
A very strong cast supports Eisenberg: Wasikowska (Map To The Stars, Tracks, Lawless, Alice In Wonderland) is everywhere at the moment and plays a very appealing love interest, despite her insecurities; Paddy Considine makes a great cameo; Chris Morris (Brass Eye); Noah Taylor (Game Of Thrones). The music is spectacular, a mixture of classical and clinical ’80s Synth helping to further develop the sense of bleakness.
The features for The Double are just as grim. No director commentaries. You lucky consumers get a short documentary explaining the film, which contains director, writer and cast and a trailer. That’s your lot. Such indulgences are unnecessary. You just need to watch the damn film and let it immerse you in it’s well-realised dystopia. Another one, I had trouble picking up in supermarkets (not so super methinks) and HMV. Amazon wins again.