Enemy Review
RYAN: We were both intrigued by Enemy, primarily since it stars Jake Gyllenhaal. But we quickly agreed, once our butts hit the seats, that the trailer was misleading. This is experimental filmmaking.
CAROLINE: I mainly wanted to see this because of the director, who made last year’s Prisoners, also starring Jake G. That was enough to get me to the screening; but alas, about 30 minutes in, I realized I’d made a grave error.
RYAN: Right? It was one of those theatrical experiences where your mind plays tricks on you because you don’t want to admit that the movie’s as complicated, non-linear and confusing as it is. And then it’s just frustrating.
CAROLINE: I just felt like the movie never went anywhere. The set up was OK, but then nothing really happened – or nothing of any interest or substance, anyway. And I wound up confused and annoyed.
RYAN: Some things did happen dramatically, but they were so awkward and unrealistic. The first scene is very Eyes Wide Shut with a creepy, disturbing, sexual tone.
CAROLINE: That scene made zero sense to me. And they do call back to it later in the film, but it literally made me guffaw out of annoyance. It was so unsatisfying. Though I do love Mélanie Laurent, so there’s that.
RYAN: She’s fine. I like her too, not that she had much to do in this movie. I love Jake, and it was cool seeing him play a dual role, but the movie is completely without suspense. The design is cool, with a golden hue permeating every scene. But the scenes are more bits than fully thought out interactions between characters.
CAROLINE: I thought that the premise looked so interesting in the sense that everyone wonders if they have a doppelgänger somewhere in the world. But yes, what winds up happening when Jakey discovers his is so unsatisfying. Unsatisfied is just my general feeling about this movie.
RYAN: You hit the nail on the head. No one in this movie reacts the way normal people would in this scenario.
CAROLINE: I think the director wanted to take it to a dark place, perhaps? And he certainly does, but to what end? None of it made sense or made me care at all about any of the characters. Sad, but true.
RYAN: There are some cool aerial shots, and the music and editing make the movie a bit suspenseful. But the story doesn’t substantiate it. There are many meaningless cutaway scenes that are distracting.
CAROLINE: The one thing I enjoyed was that it took place in Toronto. That was kind of fun; I recognized the CN Tower.
RYAN: There is a strange metaphor happening with spiders that I’ll never understand. This movie is preposterous.
