I have just finished my first viewing and have some thoughts for those who are trying to interpret what is going on. This is my guess and after some thought I think this really makes sense of the movie.
I believe Adam Bell (the professor) is a made up personality of Anthony's (the actor). The movie is littered with clues throughout. I think Anthony desperately wants to be more than a third rate actor. His relationship with his pregnant wife is bad, she knows he's been cheating on her. When she goes to the school to see Adam she's disturbed almost to tears. This is not because he looks like her husband. Also, a pregnant woman isn't going to go across town over a strange guy calling her husband; no she went because she knows her husband is mental...that's why she was questioning him so much at home. She sees Adam at school and sits down next to him. Her husband doesn't recognize her...she's upset and the scene is tense because she now knows he's mental and faking being a teacher.
More on Adam, at the beginning, he teaches the exact same class over and over, has the exact same sex with his girlfriend over and over...this is Anthony getting lost in his Adam character.
The mom, Isabella Rossellini, is the key to understanding. She leaves Adam a message at the beginning that his apartment is crap and how could he live there. That is Adam's apartment...Anthony has taken to fake teaching and an apartment to research his character of Adam...mom's worried. Adam goes to the mom to tell her about his doppelgänger, and she tells him there is no other, she's the only mom, and he is the only son.
The ending: Adam has now completely taken over Anthony's personality. He dreams up that Anthony will take Adam's girlfriend for the weekend...this is all in Adam's head as he kills off Anthony. And this leaves Adam to enter into Anthony's life. The big clue is when his wife asks him how school was today...she knows that her a-hole husband is mentally gone and is picking up on the vibe of Adam...she goes along with it and likes the Adam personality better than the personality of her husband Anthony. She also tells him to call his mom...this is the detail telling you Anthony has the same mom as Adam. The wife knows Anthony and Adam are the same person, and Adam doesn't know it. At the end, the spider from his dreams eats his wife, this is Adam/Anthony realizing he's mental and lost all touch with reality.
I believe Adam Bell (the professor) is a made up personality of Anthony's (the actor). The movie is littered with clues throughout. I think Anthony desperately wants to be more than a third rate actor. His relationship with his pregnant wife is bad, she knows he's been cheating on her. When she goes to the school to see Adam she's disturbed almost to tears. This is not because he looks like her husband. Also, a pregnant woman isn't going to go across town over a strange guy calling her husband; no she went because she knows her husband is mental...that's why she was questioning him so much at home. She sees Adam at school and sits down next to him. Her husband doesn't recognize her...she's upset and the scene is tense because she now knows he's mental and faking being a teacher.
More on Adam, at the beginning, he teaches the exact same class over and over, has the exact same sex with his girlfriend over and over...this is Anthony getting lost in his Adam character.
The mom, Isabella Rossellini, is the key to understanding. She leaves Adam a message at the beginning that his apartment is crap and how could he live there. That is Adam's apartment...Anthony has taken to fake teaching and an apartment to research his character of Adam...mom's worried. Adam goes to the mom to tell her about his doppelgänger, and she tells him there is no other, she's the only mom, and he is the only son.
The ending: Adam has now completely taken over Anthony's personality. He dreams up that Anthony will take Adam's girlfriend for the weekend...this is all in Adam's head as he kills off Anthony. And this leaves Adam to enter into Anthony's life. The big clue is when his wife asks him how school was today...she knows that her a-hole husband is mentally gone and is picking up on the vibe of Adam...she goes along with it and likes the Adam personality better than the personality of her husband Anthony. She also tells him to call his mom...this is the detail telling you Anthony has the same mom as Adam. The wife knows Anthony and Adam are the same person, and Adam doesn't know it. At the end, the spider from his dreams eats his wife, this is Adam/Anthony realizing he's mental and lost all touch with reality.