I was a massive fan of Villeneuve's take on Blade Runner so I decided to explore some of his other films. And there are lots of words I can use to describe Enemy, but unfortunately I don't think 'good' is one of them.
Please note that this review contains spoilers.
Enemy is an interesting movie. I sensed immediately that this was one of those movies that seemed normal at first, but were bizarre and surreal the further you looked. And usually I'm a massive fan of movies like that, but because of that I know that it's very hard to do right. And Enemy just misses the mark.
The biggest problem with the movie is that there's simply not enough for you to realise there is that deeper level. Villeneuve keeps dropping random hints which aren't followed through, to the point that I thought it was just some drama movie with the occasional giant spider instead of the intended nightmarish thriller. The most interesting drama is saved for the last few minutes, with the rest of the movie being slowed down to a languidly paced, uncomfortably colour-keyed drawl.
I mean, there wasn't exactly much linkage between the spider stuff and the main story. I didn't connect that it was a metaphor until I came here. The idea of an identical double could have got so many ways - identity mix-ups causing potentially life-threatening scenarios, crumbling of sanity, science-fiction-esque explanations, philosophical ideas. However, Villeneuve didn't go very far with the reasoning behind this, chalking it up to a coincidence that there just happened to be two Jake Gyllenhaals and skipping over to slow conversation in painfully yellow hotel rooms.
Speaking of whom, Jake Gyllenhaal was clearly the highlight of this movie. He pretty much carried Enemy in its entirety, to the point that I completely forgot that there was one person playing both Adam and Anthony.
The ending was good in theory but poor in execution. Again, there just wasn't enough buildup to make it particularly satisfying. If Villeneuve had infused the theme of the insects into the 'main' storyline a little more - dreams? Hallucinations? - then the ending would have been somewhat more complete-feeling, but instead you're left thinking 'what?', but unfortunately not in a good way.
This could have been good. It was a compelling movie on some levels, but it generally missed the mark.
-Sasha.
Please note that this review contains spoilers.
Enemy is an interesting movie. I sensed immediately that this was one of those movies that seemed normal at first, but were bizarre and surreal the further you looked. And usually I'm a massive fan of movies like that, but because of that I know that it's very hard to do right. And Enemy just misses the mark.
The biggest problem with the movie is that there's simply not enough for you to realise there is that deeper level. Villeneuve keeps dropping random hints which aren't followed through, to the point that I thought it was just some drama movie with the occasional giant spider instead of the intended nightmarish thriller. The most interesting drama is saved for the last few minutes, with the rest of the movie being slowed down to a languidly paced, uncomfortably colour-keyed drawl.
I mean, there wasn't exactly much linkage between the spider stuff and the main story. I didn't connect that it was a metaphor until I came here. The idea of an identical double could have got so many ways - identity mix-ups causing potentially life-threatening scenarios, crumbling of sanity, science-fiction-esque explanations, philosophical ideas. However, Villeneuve didn't go very far with the reasoning behind this, chalking it up to a coincidence that there just happened to be two Jake Gyllenhaals and skipping over to slow conversation in painfully yellow hotel rooms.
Speaking of whom, Jake Gyllenhaal was clearly the highlight of this movie. He pretty much carried Enemy in its entirety, to the point that I completely forgot that there was one person playing both Adam and Anthony.
The ending was good in theory but poor in execution. Again, there just wasn't enough buildup to make it particularly satisfying. If Villeneuve had infused the theme of the insects into the 'main' storyline a little more - dreams? Hallucinations? - then the ending would have been somewhat more complete-feeling, but instead you're left thinking 'what?', but unfortunately not in a good way.
This could have been good. It was a compelling movie on some levels, but it generally missed the mark.
-Sasha.