There was a lot of buzz regarding this movie, and most of the reviews I read said that it was good, if a little weird. It’s also been a long time since I’ve seen Jake Gyllenhaal since Source Code so why not.

Thankfully it was still running in Festival Mall in Alabang. See, this mall has a bad habit of changing show times during the weekends, pulling out lesser known films to make way for crappy ones they feel would bring in more viewers. I was half-afraid that they’d do the same stunt for this month’s Pinoy adultery movie, Trophy Wife.

Anyways, here’s my round-up of Dennis Villeneuve (Prisoners)’s official entry to Torronto International Film Festival.

Please note that there may be spoilers.  Read at your own risk.

THE STORY:

Adam Bell (Jake Gyllenhaal – Donny Darko) is a history professor living a life on a loop: he lectures college students about totalitarianism, he goes home to a dreary apartment, grades papers while he waits for his beautiful girlfriend Mary (Melanie Laurent – Inglorious Basterds) to bring him dinner, they fuck and then go to sleep. It’s clear that he’s not happy with his life but he doesn’t do anything about it.

Things pick up when, upon the recommendation of a workmate – the product of a painfully awkward lunch time small talk – Adam rents out a local movie wherein he sees an extra who is his identical physical double. Immediately he goes into stalker mode and finds out that the actor, Anthony Claire, is living in the same city with pregnant wife Helen (Sarah Gadon – A Dangerous Method). Despite his mother’s (Isabella Rossellini – Death Becomes Her) confirmation that he is an only child, Adam still makes contact. When their paths cross, their lives – along with the lives of their partners – are changed forever.

THE GOOD:

1. Jake Gyllenhaal has definitely took the time to improve on his acting chops. The little quirks and mannerisms he added to distinguish between Adam and Anthony were so effective that Adam actually seemed less handsome than his actor counterpart. I mean, I’m sure the ill-fitting suits the costume department made helped a lot, but it was the stunted posture, the extremely tired eyes and droopy eyebrows that sealed the deal.
2. The blondes were both extremely pretty and therefore made for easy watching. Both Gadon and Laurent are extremely talented actresses in their own rights but they’re clearly in this movie for their beauties more than anything else.
3. That after everything, it is still a character study. Say what you will about what this movie is about (no really, go for it; I’m still not convinced that I understood it), but underneath it all, the film was an exquisite exercise at just how quickly man succumbs to temptation (Anthony for Mary, Adam for Anthony’s seemingly perfect life). I especially liked the second-to-the-last scene where Adam, after only one night, already feels comfortable enough to lie to Helen. Bravo, Adam, we knew you had a douchebag in you somewhere.
4. It’s weird. In a good way, I mean. It only gives you enough crumbs to pay attention to so your eyes literally stay glued to the screen. Because it is so (so, so, so, so) weird, you don’t know what’s coming next and there’s a sweet tension to that.

THE BAD:

1. Adam as a character. I’m guessing he’s there to represent the average joe (stress on the word guess because I’m really not fucking sure), but it’s so difficult to relate to a person who seems so unhappy for no reason at all. He’s got a good job, a hot girlfriend who’s devoted to him yet he still walks through life like a zombie. As Raydon put it, hey dude, maybe a little bit of music or turning on more lights in your apartment might do the trick.
2. It’sreally weird. None of the characters (and I mean none of them) acted in any way that is normal. Pretty much the only thing I am sure about is the that the characters acting completely whacko is entirely deliberate. But had they acted a little bit more calmly about total non-panic generating things (and acting batshit crazy at the giant insects invading a room), maybe, just maybe, that last scene would have been more palatable.

THE UGLY:

1. That freakin’ last scene though. Just when you thought that you have it all figured out (or as figured out as you can), the movie throws at you a scene so inexplicable that no amout of discussion or debate can make any sense out of it. Believe me, we tried to connect it to the whole story but we just couldn’t. It looks like the type of thing that’s supposed to be symbolic but Adam’s reaction suggests to me that it’s something to be taken literally (in the context of the movie I mean).
2. I hate the fact that it pervades the mind, well after you’ve seen it. The movie reeks of being high brow and it is obvious that the director is enjoying the little stunt he pulled last minute and I hate, hate, hate that I’m playing right into it. It’s one of those pretentious movies that want you to think about it but the thing with this one is that you cannot not.
3. It’s really freakin’ weird. While I am glad for the experience, watching this movie offered up more questions than it did answers.

All in all Enemy, if I haven’t reiterated the point enough, is an incredibly weird movie. It may possibly be the weirdest film I’ve seen in well over a decade. The performances were really great though, especially fron Gyllenhaal, and the direction was so tight that there was no question at all that this is exactly where the director wanted to go. The script was also praise-worthy; characterization was clear despite the sparse lines. The tension definitely stayed throughout the whole film and with that music, the tone definitely felt Hitchcock-ian. It’s the type of movie you would think about (whether you want to or not) for days and probably deserves a second watching.

THE VERDICT: 8/10. Because not once did I glance away from the screen during the whole 90 minutes.

*All photos are lifted from the film’s IMDB page.