Enemy: The Should, the Could and the Empty (Film Snob #6)

There are some films that love to test your critical thinking. What is happening in this movie? Who is doing what? What the hell is going on?!

Enemy is one of them.

The story opens with Adam Bell, a bored history teacher that finds himself in a rut of life. Teach, have passionless sex with his girlfriend, repeat. He barely lives. But one day, he rents some mindless rom-com based on the recommendation of a coworker. He stays up just long enough to watch it, then goes to bed. One of his dreams show him playing a bellhop inside of the movie. He wakes, and goes to rewatch the film. Sure enough, there he is, playing a background bellhop, or at least someone who looks very much like him. His world begins to fall apart as he spends a good majority of the rest of the film trying to find this person and figure out why they are so identical.

The brilliant director Denis Villeneueve reunites with Jake Gyllenhaal (who combined powerfully in the mystery thriller Prisoners) to give us a truly mind-bending doppelganger film. Everything seems bleak in this bizarre version of Toronto, and we can’t shake the many moments of imagery that involve spiders. I spent a good portion of this 90-minute film trying to figure out what was happening, and likely missed many details. There are so many movies I could compare this to that would give you an idea of what to expect: Memento, The Shining, Inception, Shutter Island. I will say, however, that where Inception gave us plenty of exposition and did its best to describe a bizarre concept to us, then delve into its complexities, Enemy just throws you right into it and explains NOTHING. Do not go into this movie expecting to have it all laid out for you when you exit the theater.

Gyllenhaal turns in yet another astounding performance in Enemy as both Adam and his doppelganger, Anthony Claire. They look completely identical physically, but each has their own mannerisms and small details that set them apart. Adam is mostly nervous and edgy, whereas Anthony is brash and swaggering. Throw in the fact that both of their respective lovers (Adam’s girlfriend, played by the lovely Melanie Laurent of Inglourious Basterds fame, and Anthony’s wife, played by Sarah Gadon) look very alike as well, and Adam and Anthony’s lives become truly intertwined in a bizarre fashion. Gyllenhaal has really come into his own over the last few years, and I eagerly await films with him in the leading role after his award-winning performance as Detective Loki in Prisoners (won one of my awards, anyways).

I will say, however, that this movie gets pretty weird. Imagine if Stanley Kubrick directed an episode of The Twilight Zone. You quickly begin to lose track of what’s real and what’s not, and right at the end when you think you’ve gotten it all figured out, the final scene throws everything that you’ve been watching into chaos. But that’s the beauty of the film and one of its central themes: “Chaos is order yet undeciphered.” As one critic put it succinctly: “I kinda dug it but I have no idea if it’s any good or what happened or where I am anymore and what aiiiiiiiieeeeeeee that last shot!” It’s already been called one of the most shocking endings to a movie, and I cannot wait to go watch it again and see if I can unravel its mystery farther. Critics have been split on whether the movie is to be interpreted literally or as a mental development (a la Shutter Island). This debate is one of the things that makes this movie so memorable for me.

A couple of disclaimers will do nicely right about here. First, there is a large amount of sexual content in this film. We see Adam having sex with his girlfriend, which never goes beyond showing her front, but I’m sure that’s more than enough for some. There are several dreamlike sequences where nudity is involved, namely two scenes with full frontal nudity of a woman. Second, you may have noticed that I avoid talking too much about the actual story besides an initial premise. This is because it has such an enveloping experience and its story is so complex that explaining to you does a major disservice to your own movie experience. That being said, I will definitely post a Flubberghast to analyze this film within the next few weeks, once I see it again, stating what I think the movie is about. So, future warning, don’t read that Flubberghast unless you’ve already seen the movie! Expect this film on my Best Movies list at the end of the year.

Verdict: You SHOULD see this movie as soon as you can, since you will be challenged to figure out its meaning and story. However, if you don’t like your movies in a challenging Hitchcock style, or can’t handle the level of nudity, this movie isn’t for you.

P.S. - Enemy is only playing in the Circle Cinema in Tulsa right now, and there are only two other theaters within 200 miles that are playing it as well (in Missouri and Louisiana). So go view this gem at the classic theater as soon as you can!