When I was about thirteen years old, my class went on a school trip to see a musical stage production of Macbeth because firstly, we were studying it and secondly, the teachers hadn't realised that this version was a musical. To quickly review the show several years later... it was as fucking brilliantly shite as you might imagine. Anyway, when it came to the break or perhaps more likely as the show went on I thought I'd treat myself to at least some enjoyment by waltzing off and going for a piss. When in the toilets though, I heard people talking towards me and muttering and so after double checking that I hadn't prematurely and keenly got my knob out I turned to see what the problem was. In the corner there was a gang of lads from a different school that had also taken refuge from the play here and who were all kind of huddled together and looking at me. As it turned out and as they subsequently informed me, I looked just like a mate of theirs who I presumed must be a pretty good looking chap. The extent of our similarity was kind of confusing them as though he'd had a brother that he'd never told them about. Anyway, before we could end our brief encounter so that I could get on with my pissing, the friend in question just happened to pop in too and fuck me, they weren't wrong. Like- I swear to God that looking at this guy was like just looking at myself in a mirror. I was shocked. Admittedly he was shorter and fat, so it was more like looking at myself in a circus mirror but his mates did certainly still have a point. Anyway, that's basically all that happened to me and is I suppose the end of the story. I managed to enjoy my cheeky slash and then get back to the play although now with the added comfort of knowing that for the rest of my life I'd definitely be more attractive that at least one other human on this planet. Gutted for him.
So anyway, from that slightly non-story we
get to Richard Ayoade's recent adaptation of Dostoyevsky's
novel The Double. The film tells the story of Simon, a young, jittery, shy
little fuck who goes to work one day and discovers a new staff member being
introduced to everybody. Nothing odd about that I suppose except for the fact
that this new guy, James, looks and sounds exactly like Simon does and due to
how little attention people pay him, nobody else has noticed. To make matters
even worse this, new chap is basically the better version of him in every
social way possible. Within one day of working there, James has already made
more friends than Simon's managed in seven years. Effectively what you have
here is the unconfident Jessie Eisenberg of Zombieland teaming up and battling the arrogant Jessie
Eisenberg of The Social Network with the film being like a Jessie
Eisenberg Avengers style cross-over movie. Oh, and just to add a bit of
sex to the film, Simon fancies his neighbour Mia Wasikowska who, due to his
crippling shyness, he's been trying to woo only by treating her to some
slightly light stalking... as you do. Sadly for him, not fucking girls isn't a
problem that his doppelgänger James seems to have. All films need conflict and
I suppose ‘is Jessie Eisenberg going to sleep with a girl behind Jessie
Eisenberg's back?’ is certainly an interesting one.
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On top of those, I suppose the one
other film in The Double's DNA must be David Cronenberg's classic film, Dead
Ringers which features two amazing performances from both Jeremy Irons and
also Jeremy Irons. Both Dead Ringers and The Double tell the
story of two identical men who basically share the one life between them. One
is smart, the other confident, but neither can live without the other. Although
not to spoil either film, I will say that The Double doesn't end with a
scene in which a conscious patient is ripped to pieces by specifically designed
gynaecological equipment... well, not unless there was a post-credits sting
that I forgot to stick around for anyway. However perhaps this comparison is
more a case of bad timing for The Double than anything else in kind of
the same was as what happened to John Carter. Obviously Ayoade's film is
based on the book by Dostoyevsky which I'm reliably informed
by Wikipedia was first published in 1846 and therefore very slightly pre-dated Dead
Ringers by about one hundred and forty two years. Now I honestly don't know
this for sure so if anybody knows Cronenberg then I'd appreciate you asking him
for me, but I reckon he must have read and taken some inspiration from that
book for his film. Also if you do know David Cronenberg then PLEASE LET ME MEET
HIM! Meh.. fuck you! Anyway, so I guess this situation is kind of like how
people slagged of John Carter for being too like Star Wars when
Lucas himself was fairly open about the fact that he'd also pilfered a few
things from the original 1917 book that Carter was based on. Like I say
I could be wrong on that but having face-planted myself into research on
Cronenberg and his films a few months ago, like a fucking massive geek, I'd be
seriously surprised if Dostoyevsky's novel hadn't influenced him in some way.
In which case, I guess the only thing Ayoade could have done to retain the
originality of the themes of his film is to simply have gotten off his arse and
made it twenty-six years earlier to ensure he got there first. But you know...
that's laziness for you!
Anyway, speaking of themes, I'm sure
there's a million scholars or clichéd looking, speccy brain-bods out there who
have deconstructed the book into oblivion but you know, fuck them because
here's my attempt. Now… for me the film is all about loneliness, the misery of
existence and learning how to become more confident and in control of your
life. Although they say that the best films reflect back at you the baggage
that you bring to them, so if the boffins are scoffing at my interpretation,
well like I say, fuck you because as a grim, world hating chap who spends too
much time alone, that's basically what I got from it. Whether the second more
confident Eisenberg is real or not I
suppose, for me, is irrelevant with their whole battle simply being
metaphorical of the internal struggle that the original one is fighting on his
own anyway. There's a speech about halfway into this film in which Eisenberg
talks about hating himself for his lack of confidence and self-imposed loneliness
which, to be fair, is pretty heartbreaking... and for a certain type of grim
but amazingly good-looking blog writer, kind of relatable. In case it's not
obvious, I suppose it's also worth mentioning just how great Eisenberg is in
these two roles proving at last that the Oscar nominated Actor of The Social
Network is at the very least as talented as the young Lindsey Lohan of The
Parent Trap fame. Credit should also
go to Mia Wasikowska who is also as good in this as she was in Stoker.
In fact, after now seeing her play two slightly cooky characters in both this
and Stoker, I think she's carving a pretty solid niche for herself as an
actress who plays characters that are as complicated and weird as her fucking
surname.
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