Enemy (2013)
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A man becomes obsessed with a man who is his physical twin, leading to a tense psychological confrontation.
The story
Adam Bell, a college history professor in Toronto, becomes obsessed with an actor who looks exactly like him. After discovering the man, Adam's life begins to unravel as he tries to understand the connection between them. The discovery of their identical physical features leads to a series of unsettling encounters and a blurring of identities. As Adam navigates this strange reality, he must confront the implications of having a double who shares his face but not his life.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Adam Bell, a Toronto professor, becomes obsessed with an actor named Anthony Claire who is his physical twin. After a series of tense interactions and a meeting in a hotel room where they confirm their identical features, the two men begin experiencing shared dreams of a giant spider. Anthony eventually manipulates Adam into letting him take his girlfriend, Mary, to a hotel. Meanwhile, Adam infiltrates Anthony's apartment and is welcomed by Anthony's wife, Helen, who is shocked by the doppelgänger. During a tryst, Helen tells Adam she prefers him. At the hotel, Mary and Anthony get into a fight and crash their car, presumably killing them both. The next day, Adam finds a key to an underground club. Upon entering a room, he finds a massive tarantula instead of Helen.
- First release year
- 2013
- Runtime (minutes)
- 90
- Production countries
- Canada
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Denis Villeneuve
- Writers
- Javier Gullón · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Jake Gyllenhaal · Adam Bell and Anthony Claire; Mélanie Laurent · Mary; Sarah Gadon · Helen Claire; Isabella Rossellini · Mother
- Genres
- psychological thriller; erotic thriller
- Themes
- repetition; subconscious; identity; totalitarianism
- Tone and mood
- tense; lurid; Kafka-esque
- Setting
- Toronto and Mississauga, Canada.
- Premise and plot tags
- doppelgänger; identity crisis; psychological thriller
- Source material / true-story basis
- The Double by José Saramago
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews and was described as a tense, adventurous thriller with a strong performance by Jake Gyllenhaal.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 6.6 · scale: 10 · review count: 121; Metacritic · score: 61 · scale: 100 · review count: 30
- Awards and nominations
- Canadian Screen Award · Best Director · 2014 · Win; Canadian Screen Award · Best Supporting Actress · 2014 · Win; Toronto Film Critics Association Awards · Best Canadian Film of the Year · 2014 · Win
- Production trivia
- The film features a motion-controlled camera with a dolly to help the lead actor maintain a consistent eyeline during scenes with his double.; The opening line is from the source novel.; The film was produced and sold by Pathé International before being bought by A24.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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