It’s been a great year for film music. I say that as someone who had to endure the laughably dated qualities of Alberto Iglesias’ Exodus: Gods and Kings and had to swallow the pill that is Howard Shore‘s latter days Middle-earth music.
But it has been a great year. Clint Mansell gave us haunting, complex soundscapes in Noah, the Alexandre Desplat Hive Mind unleashed another five feature-length scores on the planet, and we even got a peak at John Williams‘ forthcoming music in that Star Wars trailer.
So what was the best of the bunch? For simplicity’s sake, I’ve limited this list to movies with U.S. theatrical runs in 2014. When possible, I’ve also linked to our reviews and select cues on Spotify, although you’ll note the occasional YouTube or SoundCloud embed as well. Let’s do this:
20. Horns — Robin Coudert
Every few years,...
But it has been a great year. Clint Mansell gave us haunting, complex soundscapes in Noah, the Alexandre Desplat Hive Mind unleashed another five feature-length scores on the planet, and we even got a peak at John Williams‘ forthcoming music in that Star Wars trailer.
So what was the best of the bunch? For simplicity’s sake, I’ve limited this list to movies with U.S. theatrical runs in 2014. When possible, I’ve also linked to our reviews and select cues on Spotify, although you’ll note the occasional YouTube or SoundCloud embed as well. Let’s do this:
20. Horns — Robin Coudert
Every few years,...
- 12/31/2014
- by David Klein
- SoundOnSight
With "The Double," English writer/director and sometimes-comedian Richard Ayoade establishes himself as more than just the Wes Anderson acolyte we first met with his quirky 2010 directorial debut feature "Submarine." Set somewhere outside of time, this 2013 Tiff premiere stars Jesse Eisenberg as Simon James, a joyless, virtually invisible data clerk whose life is but an endless chain of hours, shuttling back and forth between a dead-end desk job, where he's mostly ignored, and his spartan apartment in a cluttered industrial tenement. His coworkers regard him as "a bit of a nonperson," but something like life sparks within him when he spies Hannah (Mia Wasikowska), on his morning commute -- and again at night, from the handy vantage point of his window via telescope. A Kafkaesque rigamarole of petty bureaucracy and life's little obstacles set the tone for this eerie dark comedy: Simon can't get into his own building because the security guard doesn't.
- 10/1/2014
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
Recently, CBS released the new,official synopsis/spoilers for their upcoming "NCIS" episode 3 of season 12. The episode is entitled, "So It Goes," and it turns out that we'll see Ducky head on back to London due to some important details of the team's latest case, and more. In the new, 3rd episode press release: Ducky will return home to London after an NCIS case reveals a connection to his estranged childhood best friend. Press release number 2: When an NCIS case reveals a connection to Ducky’s estranged childhood best friend, he and Special Agent Bishop are going to travel to London for interviews with family and co-workers of his friend. While there, Ducky will find himself reminiscing about the choices he made in his past and the subsequent impact they had on his adult life. Adam Campbell guest stars as young Ducky and Alice Krige guest stars as Maggie Clarke,...
- 9/30/2014
- by Andre
- OnTheFlix
At a loss for what to watch this week? From new DVDs and Blu-rays, to what's streaming on Netflix, we've got you covered.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
"Chef"
Jon Favreau wrote and directed this delicious comedy about a chef named Carl Casper, who quits the biz to start a food truck with help from fellow chef Martin (John Leguizamo) and Carl's son Percy. Sofía Vergara plays Carl's ex-wife, with Dustin Hoffman as Carl's former boss, Scarlett Johansson as the hostess of the restaurant, and Oliver Platt as a food critic whose mean tweets kicked off this whole business.
"The Exorcist: The Complete Anthology"
This Blu-ray box set includes both the theatrical version and the extended director's cut of "The Exorcist," "Exorcist II: The Heretic," "The Exorcist III," and the two prequels, "Exorcist: The Beginning" and "Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist." Although this set doesn't boast a whole lot of extras,...
New on DVD and Blu-ray
"Chef"
Jon Favreau wrote and directed this delicious comedy about a chef named Carl Casper, who quits the biz to start a food truck with help from fellow chef Martin (John Leguizamo) and Carl's son Percy. Sofía Vergara plays Carl's ex-wife, with Dustin Hoffman as Carl's former boss, Scarlett Johansson as the hostess of the restaurant, and Oliver Platt as a food critic whose mean tweets kicked off this whole business.
"The Exorcist: The Complete Anthology"
This Blu-ray box set includes both the theatrical version and the extended director's cut of "The Exorcist," "Exorcist II: The Heretic," "The Exorcist III," and the two prequels, "Exorcist: The Beginning" and "Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist." Although this set doesn't boast a whole lot of extras,...
- 9/29/2014
- by Jenni Miller
- Moviefone
★★★☆☆British actor and director Richard Ayoade follows up his sublime black comedy Submarine (2010) with intense and brooding sophomore feature The Double (2013), an adaptation of Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky's 1846 novella of the same name. Jesse Eisenberg (soon to take the mantle of Lex Luthor in Zack Snyder's Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice) stars as Simon James, a meek and apprehensive employee at a bizarre bureaucratic industrial office. He goes to work every day, boxed into a characterless cubicle. The office security guard reacts to poor Simon with great hostility, refusing to recognise him and requiring his ID, even though he has been an employee there for seven years.
- 8/4/2014
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
After rightly drawing critical approval for his debut feature - an invigorating adaptation of Joe Dunthorne's novel Submarine, British comic-cum-filmmaker Richard Ayoade returns with second feature The Double (2013), taking as its source Fyodor Dostoyevsky's dark, pre-Kafka novella but repositioning its nineteenth-century action to a more updated, if not wholly identifiable, moment and place in time. In it Jesse Eisenberg plays Simon James, a withdrawn office cog whose incessant self-doubt dictates a life spent at the mercy of his oppressive surroundings - a faceless, disregarding work environment matched by a suicide-heavy apartment complex - and renders him incapable of vocalising his affection for copygirl Hannah (Mia Wasikowska).
- 8/3/2014
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Mia Wasikowska, Noah Taylor, Chris O’Dowd, Wallace Shawn, James Fox, Sally Hawkins, Paddy Considine, Cathy Moriarty | Written by Richard Ayoade, Avi Korine | Directed by Richard Ayoade
When Richard Ayoade directed Submarine he gave us this slightly quirky tale of teen love, it was all a little fluffy and silly but very good. Moving onto The Double if you saw the trailer you could already see that it was something very different. Taking Jesse ‘soon to be Lex Luthor’ Eisenberg and giving him a nightmarish doppelgänger we are invited into a world where being nobody can get you replaced.
Simon James (Jesse Eisenberg) is nobody, he goes around the world unnoticed, ignored at work and not even noticed by the women of his dreams. When a new worker James Simon arrives James is the only one to notice that he is an exact replica of himself. As...
When Richard Ayoade directed Submarine he gave us this slightly quirky tale of teen love, it was all a little fluffy and silly but very good. Moving onto The Double if you saw the trailer you could already see that it was something very different. Taking Jesse ‘soon to be Lex Luthor’ Eisenberg and giving him a nightmarish doppelgänger we are invited into a world where being nobody can get you replaced.
Simon James (Jesse Eisenberg) is nobody, he goes around the world unnoticed, ignored at work and not even noticed by the women of his dreams. When a new worker James Simon arrives James is the only one to notice that he is an exact replica of himself. As...
- 8/2/2014
- by Paul Metcalf
- Nerdly
Who’s got two Eisenbergs and knows how to use them? That would be British sitcom star-turned director Richard Ayoade, whose second feature, the dementedly funny and even more unnerving The Double, is a buy one star, get one free affair. Playing opposite himself, Oscar-nominee Jesse Eisenberg puts on a paranoid clinic as a man literally at war with himself – or at least, a version of himself that’s smoother, sexier and more duplicitous than he could ever be. It’s a loopy, occasionally nasty experience that Eisenberg is pulling double-duty to shoulder, but it’s Ayoade who’s the real one to watch, as The Double cements him as one of Britain’s most promising up-and-coming directors.
Though best known in Britain as the endearingly oblivious Moss from The I.T. Crowd, North American viewers may only recognize Ayoade for as his role as the only thing even remotely...
Though best known in Britain as the endearingly oblivious Moss from The I.T. Crowd, North American viewers may only recognize Ayoade for as his role as the only thing even remotely...
- 6/12/2014
- by Sam Woolf
- We Got This Covered
"The Double" hit theaters and VOD May 9th, starring two Jesse Eisenbergs as Simon James and James Simon. You've probably seen the trailers and gotten a sense of the upset that follows when James arrives at Simon's workplace, showing him up in every way. But check out this exclusive clip to see the moment one of them cracks, while the other smirks. Also, check out how Richard Ayoade cloned Eisenberg without a green screen here. See the clip below.
- 5/12/2014
- by Taylor Lindsay
- Indiewire
Editor’s note: Our review of The Double originally ran during last year’s Tiff, but we’re re-running it now as the film opens in theaters. Having previously delighted festival audiences with his charming debut, Submarine, filmmaker Richard Ayoade again returns to the oddball indie fold with his deeply bizarre and incredibly entertaining The Double. Based on the Fyodor Dostoevsky novella of the same name – no, you wait right there, this isn’t your high school English class Dostoevsky, you’re going to have fun here – Ayoades’s second feature centers on timid office worker Simon James (Jesse Eisenberg), a man incapable of getting (or even asking for) anything he wants whose existence is forever changed by a new co-worker – one who looks just like him but acts in a completely opposite manner. James Simon (also played by Eisenberg, because duh) is a smirking go-getter, a ladies’ man, and a carouser who everyone adores. Simon...
- 5/9/2014
- by Kate Erbland
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Mia Wasikowska, Noah Taylor, Chris O’Dowd, Wallace Shawn, James Fox, Sally Hawkins, Paddy Considine, Cathy Moriarty | Written by Richard Ayoade, Avi Korine | Directed by Richard Ayoade
In only two films Richard Ayoade has proven to be one of the most talented young minds in the world of cinema today. With his first film Submarine he provided new life to the world of coming of age tales by crafting a film that was unique and heartfelt. His latest film The Double is rather a hard one to quantify. It is this roaming amalgamation of different cinematic features that should not go together, yet strangely do. There is a distinct Orwellian tone spliced with David Lynch sense of weirdness. Ayoade avoids creating too overbearing of a mood by adding in a dry comedic wit reminiscent of Wes Anderson’s fast paced humor. Within these familiar qualities is an...
In only two films Richard Ayoade has proven to be one of the most talented young minds in the world of cinema today. With his first film Submarine he provided new life to the world of coming of age tales by crafting a film that was unique and heartfelt. His latest film The Double is rather a hard one to quantify. It is this roaming amalgamation of different cinematic features that should not go together, yet strangely do. There is a distinct Orwellian tone spliced with David Lynch sense of weirdness. Ayoade avoids creating too overbearing of a mood by adding in a dry comedic wit reminiscent of Wes Anderson’s fast paced humor. Within these familiar qualities is an...
- 5/9/2014
- by Dan Clark
- Nerdly
When Richard Ayoade arrived in 2010 with his charming tale of adolescence and young romance with the stylish "Submarine," the picture was immediately greeted with rather reductive comparisons to Wes Anderson. It was an unfair assessment levelled at the movie and filmmaker—even from those who championed the film—that diminished what an accomplished piece of cinema Ayoade had put together. And one can't help but wonder if "The Double" is a sly response to those criticisms of borrowing from others. Certainly, his latest will invoke names like Terry Gilliam and Michel Gondry to be tossed around, but make no mistake: not only does "The Double" confirm Ayoade as one of the brightest rising talents behind the camera, it's completely his own and unlike anything you've seen in cinemas in quite some time. Based on the novella by Fyodor Dostoevsky, the story follows the meek and awkward Simon James (Jesse Eisenberg...
- 5/8/2014
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Jesse Eisenberg’s Simon James has worked at the same company for seven years. You’d think that might give him some clout with the security people he sees nearly every day when his pass stops functioning. But, in director Richard Ayoade’s The Double, he is not only completely unrecognizable to them — he’s also someone to be suspicious of.
His world just keeps getting stranger as he actively has to sneak into a mandatory work party, where his crush, played with dreamy feistiness by Eisenberg’s real-life girlfriend Mia Wasikowska, doesn’t even notice him.
Check out the...
His world just keeps getting stranger as he actively has to sneak into a mandatory work party, where his crush, played with dreamy feistiness by Eisenberg’s real-life girlfriend Mia Wasikowska, doesn’t even notice him.
Check out the...
- 5/8/2014
- by Lindsey Bahr
- EW - Inside Movies
Similar to his excellent 2011 debut feature, “Submarine," quick comparisons to past classics have flown frequently with Richard Ayoade’s sophomore effort “The Double." This time Terry Gilliam’s “Brazil” has been elected the overriding influence; however, don’t ask Ayoade to verify such a claim. As the actor/director said when he sat down with us recently in Los Angeles, “I don't remember ‘Brazil’ well enough to even know whether that's true.” Based on the Fyodor Dostoyevsky novella, “The Double” indeed riffs on a recognizable dystopian sci-fi tone, but it swiftly and effortlessly forges its own path of dark humor, existential themes, and wonderful performances. The film stars Jesse Eisenberg as Simon James, an invisible office drone in a nameless office, whose only source of happiness comes from his interactions with co-worker Hannah (played by Mia Wasikowska). However, his sense of identity and self worth takes a hit when James Simon,...
- 5/8/2014
- by Charlie Schmidlin
- The Playlist
With Richard Ayoade's second feature "The Double" slated for a May 9th release, the Creators Project decided to give us a behind-the-scenes look at how the film about doppelgängers was made. Read More: 10 Funny Quips and Highlights from Richard Ayoade's Reddit Ama Based on the novella by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, "The Double" follows the passive Simon James (Eisenberg) who pines for Hannah, played by Mia Wasikowska. When his double, the much more confident James Simon is hired as a new employee in Simon's company, things grow complicated. In the clip Ayoade speaks about the difficulties in making a film about doppelgängers and the necessity in finding an actor who can "balance both [the} Simon James' and James Simon's parts at once." In addition to this, he discusses the technical process behind duplicating an actor on screen. What's most fascinating about the technique is that it is nothing particularly new.
- 5/7/2014
- by Eric Eidelstein
- Indiewire
Title: The Double Director: Richard Ayoade Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Mia Wasikowska, Wallace Shawn, Cathy Moriarty, Sally Hawkins, Chris O’Dowd. Richard Ayoade moulds the human dramatic quest to find recognition in others into a very dark comedy, reshaping Dostoyevsky’s ‘The Double’ in a Kafkaesque journey through absurdity. Simon James (Jesse Eisenberg) is trapped in an eerie, Orwellian nightmare, living in a lonely tower block and stuck in perpetual night. He works for a sinister company with the obscure objective to turn people into data “as there is no such thing as a special person”. Simon is aware he is not special. Actually he’s a forgettable non-person. And this consciousness will reinforce [ Read More ]
The post The Double Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post The Double Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 5/5/2014
- by Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi
- ShockYa
Have you ever wished a fantastic song struck up the moment you walked into a room? It’s something that happens in movies, never in real life. But there are sounds that do accompany us in our every day lives. The ambient sound of the wind, cars driving by, idle chatter, coffee brewing. We rarely notice these noises because they are simply a part of the background, but what if suddenly all these unnoticeable noises were amplified? A subway car rushing by so loudly you’re forced to cover your ears. The chatter in a coffee shop becoming deafening. A copy machine sounding like gun fire. And no one else seems to notice. You would think you were going crazy, right? This is exactly what seems to be happening to Simon James (Jesse Eisenberg) in The Double. Simon seems like an ordinary guy with a boring job, a small apartment, and...
- 5/1/2014
- by Allison Loring
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
★★★★☆The follow-up to his blistering directorial debut Submarine (2010), The Double (2013) sees British comic and filmmaker Richard Ayoade turning his attentions further afield with an impressionistic adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's 19th century novella of the same name. Retaining its dark, pre-Kafka-esque high concept, Ayoade's sophomore feature is a psychological thriller exploring the disparate combined natures of a timid, lonely guy and his charming, effervescent doppelgänger as they both try and coexist in a cruel, volatile and timeless world. The Social Network star Jesse Eisenberg plays Simon James, a softly spoken, milquetoast office drone in a featureless dystopia.
- 4/8/2014
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Jesse Eisenberg and a strong cast bring Richard Ayoade's paranoid dystopia to life
Deadpan Richard Ayoade's follow-up to the terrifically spiky teen black comedy Submarine is a Dostoevsky-inspired tale of a nerdy office clerk, Simon James (Jesse Eisenberg), whose life is overturned by the appearance of a gregarious doppelganger, James Simon (Eisenberg again, obviously). Horrified that no one else even notices this inexplicable doubling, Simon finds his already questionable identity being eaten away by his own worst enemy: himself or rather, a mirror image of himself, possessing all the confidence, charisma and charm that he so sorely lacks. A dab hand at dramatising absurdist paranoia, Ayoade fills the future-retro landscape with sounds and visions lifted from Terry Gilliam's Brazil and David Lynch's Eraserhead, with effective if derivative results.
Eisenberg does sterling work as the central split personality, conjuring two distinct characters who play off each other with well choreographed ease.
Deadpan Richard Ayoade's follow-up to the terrifically spiky teen black comedy Submarine is a Dostoevsky-inspired tale of a nerdy office clerk, Simon James (Jesse Eisenberg), whose life is overturned by the appearance of a gregarious doppelganger, James Simon (Eisenberg again, obviously). Horrified that no one else even notices this inexplicable doubling, Simon finds his already questionable identity being eaten away by his own worst enemy: himself or rather, a mirror image of himself, possessing all the confidence, charisma and charm that he so sorely lacks. A dab hand at dramatising absurdist paranoia, Ayoade fills the future-retro landscape with sounds and visions lifted from Terry Gilliam's Brazil and David Lynch's Eraserhead, with effective if derivative results.
Eisenberg does sterling work as the central split personality, conjuring two distinct characters who play off each other with well choreographed ease.
- 4/5/2014
- by Mark Kermode
- The Guardian - Film News
A painfully funny odyssey of personal ineffectualness that is bitterly wonderful in how it revels in the decrepit horror of the everyday world. I’m “biast” (pro): nothing
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
I have not read the source material
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
I had been so looking forward to Terry Gilliam’s new film The Zero Theorem at last year’s London Film Festival, and it turned out to be a crushing disappointment. (I haven’t reviewed it yet. Maybe I’ll do so when it comes to DVD.) And then, literally immediately afterward — I stepped from one screening room to the one next door — I walked into Richard Ayoade’s second feature film The Double, and by the time I walked out, I was thinking: Now that was the Gilliam film I was hoping to see!
I saw The Double for a second time recently,...
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
I have not read the source material
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
I had been so looking forward to Terry Gilliam’s new film The Zero Theorem at last year’s London Film Festival, and it turned out to be a crushing disappointment. (I haven’t reviewed it yet. Maybe I’ll do so when it comes to DVD.) And then, literally immediately afterward — I stepped from one screening room to the one next door — I walked into Richard Ayoade’s second feature film The Double, and by the time I walked out, I was thinking: Now that was the Gilliam film I was hoping to see!
I saw The Double for a second time recently,...
- 4/4/2014
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
Jesse Eisenberg struggles to live in a world where his more charismatic twin is wooing his colleagues and love interest in Richard Ayoade‘s doppelgänger tale “The Double” – and courtesy of Studio Canal UK, we’ve got some new clips to share! Loosely based on the 1846 Fyodor Dostoevsky novel of the same title, “The Double” centers on Simon James (Eisenberg), a socially awkward man who discovers his doppelgänger in the form of James Simon. Despite being physical duplicates, Simon and James are total opposites in personality. With a confidence that can evidently (as seen in the third clip below) be [...]
The post Watch: Jesse Eisenberg and Mia Wasikowska in New Clips From Richard Ayoade’s ‘The Double’ appeared first on Up and Comers.
The post Watch: Jesse Eisenberg and Mia Wasikowska in New Clips From Richard Ayoade’s ‘The Double’ appeared first on Up and Comers.
- 3/27/2014
- by Alfonso Espina
- UpandComers
"It was the idea of somebody so invisible & lowly that their double could appear and no one would notice; that was funny," director Richard Ayoade said during a recent Q&A about this forthcoming "The Double." And indeed, the film's pleasures come from indulging in the absurdness of the scenario of a doppelganger emerging, consuming the life of his opposite, and no one being any the wiser except for the double. Jesse Eisenberg and Mia Wasikowska lead the excellent ensemble for this one (that includes Noah Taylor, Wallace Shawn, Yasmin Page, Cathy Moriarty and more), with their complicated relationship at the center of the movie. You see, Simon James likes Hannah, she barely knows he's alive, but she utterly falls for his duplicate, James Simon, a much more charismatic and successful individual. And so you have scenes like the one in this clip, where Simon is utterly baffled that Hannah...
- 3/27/2014
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Richard Ayoade shot to fame as Moss in The It Crowd but it was Submarine, his debut behind the camera, that won him critical acclaim. As his new film, The Double, is released, he talks about pride, performing and giving up his pop dreams
The premise of Fyodor Dostoevsky's 1846 novella The Double is simple but ingenious: a man lives an entirely unremarkable existence until one day his exact doppelganger shows up. This incongruous situation fast becomes insufferable for two reasons: first, the new guy is slick where he is stammering, popular where he's forgettable, Day-Glo to his beige; and, second, because no one else notices any likeness at all between the pair of them.
The Double, it's said, is meant as an allegory: the straight man is Dostoevsky in real life, shy and often awkward; the arriviste is the author 2.0, the person he sometimes wished he was, who is quick-witted and irresistible to women.
The premise of Fyodor Dostoevsky's 1846 novella The Double is simple but ingenious: a man lives an entirely unremarkable existence until one day his exact doppelganger shows up. This incongruous situation fast becomes insufferable for two reasons: first, the new guy is slick where he is stammering, popular where he's forgettable, Day-Glo to his beige; and, second, because no one else notices any likeness at all between the pair of them.
The Double, it's said, is meant as an allegory: the straight man is Dostoevsky in real life, shy and often awkward; the arriviste is the author 2.0, the person he sometimes wished he was, who is quick-witted and irresistible to women.
- 3/23/2014
- by Tim Lewis
- The Guardian - Film News
With black comedy The Double arriving in the UK on April 4th from StudioCanal (it hits Stateside a month later from Magnolia), the first clip from the film has arrived. Check it out, and expect more soon!
The Double is directed by Richard Ayoade, who co-wrote the script with Avi Korine based on a Fyodor Dostoevsky novella.
It stars Jesse Eisenberg in a dual role along with Mia Wasikowska, Wallace Shawn, Yasmin Paige, Noah Taylor, James Fox, Cathy Moriarty, Chris O'Dowd, Sally Hawkins, Craig Roberts, and Paddy Considine.
For more info visit The Double on Facebook.
Synopsis:
Simon James is a ghost. Friends, family, and coworkers meet his every action with complete indifference. He grimly goes through the motions, hoping for recognition that never comes. All of this changes when James Simon arrives.
Physically, James and Simon are dead ringers. Yet, in temperament, James is everything Simon is not: personable,...
The Double is directed by Richard Ayoade, who co-wrote the script with Avi Korine based on a Fyodor Dostoevsky novella.
It stars Jesse Eisenberg in a dual role along with Mia Wasikowska, Wallace Shawn, Yasmin Paige, Noah Taylor, James Fox, Cathy Moriarty, Chris O'Dowd, Sally Hawkins, Craig Roberts, and Paddy Considine.
For more info visit The Double on Facebook.
Synopsis:
Simon James is a ghost. Friends, family, and coworkers meet his every action with complete indifference. He grimly goes through the motions, hoping for recognition that never comes. All of this changes when James Simon arrives.
Physically, James and Simon are dead ringers. Yet, in temperament, James is everything Simon is not: personable,...
- 3/14/2014
- by Debi Moore
- DreadCentral.com
Opening this weekend, Denis Villeneuve's "Enemy" uses the conduit of the doppelganger (a popular cinematic theme, check out our recent feature) to explore themes of identity and sexuality in a brilliant and surreal headfuck of a movie. Richard Ayoade's "The Double" also plays with two men as duplicates, though Ayoade's aims are much more whimsical, but no less satisfying. The first clip from the film, starring Jesse Eisenberg, has arrived, and it gives a pretty good sense of the tone and pitch of "The Double." The scene finds the meek Simon James eating out with his much more assertive opposite James Simon, where the order at a diner becomes a battle of wills. It's a pretty terrific example of the two different performances Eisenberg brings to the movie, the sharp dialogue and the carefully constructed sets. "The Double" opens in theaters and VOD on May 9th. Watch...
- 3/14/2014
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Jesse Eisenberg dines with his doppelganger in the above exclusive clip from The Double.
The film, directed by Submarine's Richard Ayoade, sees Eisenberg play Simon James, a clerical worker who sees his more confident double (named James Simon) slowly begin to take over his life.
The Double features Mia Wasikowska, Sally Hawkins, Yasmin Paige, Chris O'Dowd, Noah Taylor and Paddy Considine in its supporting cast.
Ayoade and his co-writer Avi Korine took inspiration from Fyodor Dostoevsky's novella of the same name for the film.
Eisenberg was recently cast as Lex Luthor in the upcoming Batman vs Superman movie.
The Double will be in cinemas nationwide from April 4. A preview screening and live satellite Q&A with Ayoade will take place on Thursday, March 27 at Picturehouse Cinemas. For more information visit Picturehouse Cinemas.
The film, directed by Submarine's Richard Ayoade, sees Eisenberg play Simon James, a clerical worker who sees his more confident double (named James Simon) slowly begin to take over his life.
The Double features Mia Wasikowska, Sally Hawkins, Yasmin Paige, Chris O'Dowd, Noah Taylor and Paddy Considine in its supporting cast.
Ayoade and his co-writer Avi Korine took inspiration from Fyodor Dostoevsky's novella of the same name for the film.
Eisenberg was recently cast as Lex Luthor in the upcoming Batman vs Superman movie.
The Double will be in cinemas nationwide from April 4. A preview screening and live satellite Q&A with Ayoade will take place on Thursday, March 27 at Picturehouse Cinemas. For more information visit Picturehouse Cinemas.
- 3/13/2014
- Digital Spy
In Richard Ayoade's new film, The Double, Eisenberg plays two versions of the same character. Is it a case of art imitating life?
I'd felt some trepidation in the lead-up to my interview with Jesse Eisenberg. Throughout his promotional duties for last year's magic thriller Now You See Me, he was sporadically spiky; most notable was the video in which he mocked a young female interviewer for writing questions on her hands, then told her not to cry until the interview was over so that he wouldn't look responsible for her tears. There was also the voxpop in which, having been asked about his favourite things to do in Toronto, he replied sardonically: "Oh, you can read about it on my blog, Jesse's Guide To Toronto, where I list the top 4,500 things that I really like about the city."
In both of those videos, though, he's funny, probably just...
I'd felt some trepidation in the lead-up to my interview with Jesse Eisenberg. Throughout his promotional duties for last year's magic thriller Now You See Me, he was sporadically spiky; most notable was the video in which he mocked a young female interviewer for writing questions on her hands, then told her not to cry until the interview was over so that he wouldn't look responsible for her tears. There was also the voxpop in which, having been asked about his favourite things to do in Toronto, he replied sardonically: "Oh, you can read about it on my blog, Jesse's Guide To Toronto, where I list the top 4,500 things that I really like about the city."
In both of those videos, though, he's funny, probably just...
- 3/8/2014
- by Alex Godfrey
- The Guardian - Film News
No, your eyes don't deceive you. This is indeed another story about a film in which one actor is playing two characters who look alike. Up now is the official trailer for Richard Ayoade's dark comedy The Double.
You'll find the film in theatres and on iTunes May 9th from Magnolia Pictures.
The Double is directed by Richard Ayoade, who co-wrote the script with Avi Korine based on a Fyodor Dostoevsky novella.
It stars Jesse Eisenberg in a dual role along with Mia Wasikowska, Wallace Shawn, Yasmin Paige, Noah Taylor, James Fox, Cathy Moriarty, Chris O'Dowd, Sally Hawkins, Craig Roberts, and Paddy Considine.
For more info visit The Double on Facebook.
Synopsis:
Simon James is a ghost. Friends, family, and coworkers meet his every action with complete indifference. He grimly goes through the motions, hoping for recognition that never comes. All of this changes when James Simon arrives.
Physically,...
You'll find the film in theatres and on iTunes May 9th from Magnolia Pictures.
The Double is directed by Richard Ayoade, who co-wrote the script with Avi Korine based on a Fyodor Dostoevsky novella.
It stars Jesse Eisenberg in a dual role along with Mia Wasikowska, Wallace Shawn, Yasmin Paige, Noah Taylor, James Fox, Cathy Moriarty, Chris O'Dowd, Sally Hawkins, Craig Roberts, and Paddy Considine.
For more info visit The Double on Facebook.
Synopsis:
Simon James is a ghost. Friends, family, and coworkers meet his every action with complete indifference. He grimly goes through the motions, hoping for recognition that never comes. All of this changes when James Simon arrives.
Physically,...
- 3/3/2014
- by Debi Moore
- DreadCentral.com
Richard Ayoade’s The Double has released a great new trailer online, in which Jesse Eisenberg’s mild-mannered young man finds his life turned on its head by the arrival of his exact double… The new trailer plays up the inherent comedy in Simon James’ situation, as his friends and co-workers begin to wax lyrical about how “there’s no-one like James Simon”. No-one at all… There are also a couple of entirely new scenes teased here, including a brief appearance from Ayoade’s Submarine star, Craig Roberts. Take a look at the new...
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- 3/3/2014
- by George Wales
- TotalFilm
With the exception of Akiva Schaffer.s drab 2012 comedy The Watch, I have been a fan of every single thing that actor/writer/director Richard Ayoade has been a part of, and his upcoming comedic thriller The Double, which debuted a new theatrical trailer, could be his most accomplished work yet. Sure, it probably can't top the hilarious insanity of Garth Marenghi.s Darkplace, but to try would be a waste. The Double is based on the 1846 novella from Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and stars Jesse Eisenberg as Simon James, just the kind of character you.ve come to expect from an Eisenberg role: withdrawn, shy and soft-spoken. He has a crush on a girl named Hannah, played by Mia Wasikowska, and his job as some kind of government worker is as mundane as the clothes he wears. (His boss is played with gleeful authority by Wallace Shawn.) But the humdrum is...
- 3/1/2014
- cinemablend.com
While on the surface, "Enemy" and "The Double" might seem like similar films, with both featuring stories about doppelgängers, but really they couldn't be more different. Where Jake Gyllenhaal's film is an existential, psychosexual thriller, Jesse Eisenberg's movie is a steampunk, fantastical delight. And better yet, both are worth tracking down. But today we're talking about Richard Ayoade's film, with a new trailer dropping today revealing another look at the absurdly perfect world he's put together. The story follows Simon James, a perfectly forgettable office drone, who finds his life overtaken by James Simon his exact double, who happens to be more confident, attractive and winning than he is. It's a movie that's "daring, hilarious and wickedly clever" (as you'll see us quoted in the trailer). And be sure to read our review from Tiff. "The Double" opens in theaters and VOD on May 9th. Watch below.
- 2/28/2014
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
What would you do if you met someone who looked exactly like you?
That's the premise of the deeply (and delightfully) weird movie, "The Double," starring Jesse Eisenberg. A new full trailer has been released, and shows off just how imaginative and
kooky the film is.
Eisenberg plays Simon James, a passive office drone who has a crush on Hannah (Mia Wasikowska). But Simon's life is turned upside down when he meets his new co-worker, James Simon -- who looks exactly like him, but has a totally different personality. But nobody else seems to realize that the two are doppelgangers.
"Did you notice anything strange about him? I mean, did he remind you of anyone?" Simon asks another colleague, who looks puzzled. "Who'd you have in mind?" he asks.
"The Double" hits theaters on May 9.
That's the premise of the deeply (and delightfully) weird movie, "The Double," starring Jesse Eisenberg. A new full trailer has been released, and shows off just how imaginative and
kooky the film is.
Eisenberg plays Simon James, a passive office drone who has a crush on Hannah (Mia Wasikowska). But Simon's life is turned upside down when he meets his new co-worker, James Simon -- who looks exactly like him, but has a totally different personality. But nobody else seems to realize that the two are doppelgangers.
"Did you notice anything strange about him? I mean, did he remind you of anyone?" Simon asks another colleague, who looks puzzled. "Who'd you have in mind?" he asks.
"The Double" hits theaters on May 9.
- 2/28/2014
- by Kelly Woo
- Moviefone
The Double has released a new trailer.
Jesse Eisenberg goes head-to-head with his doppelgänger in the teaser from Richard Ayoade's new film.
The story centres around downtrodden worker Simon James, who encounters his double James Simon.
His physical twin is more confident and clever, and is soon threatening to steal his job and the girl of his dreams Hannah (Mia Wasikowska).
Sally Hawkins, Wallace Shawn, James Fox, Paddy Considine, Noah Taylor, Yasmin Paige, Craig Roberts, Chris O'Dowd and Chris Morris also feature in the film.
Ayoade and Avi Korine wrote the script inspired by Fyodor Dostoevsky's novella.
The director is best known from his role in British comedies The It Crowd and The Mighty Boosh. This is his second film following 2010's Submarine.
The Double will arrive in the UK on April 4 and in the Us on May 9.
Jesse Eisenberg goes head-to-head with his doppelgänger in the teaser from Richard Ayoade's new film.
The story centres around downtrodden worker Simon James, who encounters his double James Simon.
His physical twin is more confident and clever, and is soon threatening to steal his job and the girl of his dreams Hannah (Mia Wasikowska).
Sally Hawkins, Wallace Shawn, James Fox, Paddy Considine, Noah Taylor, Yasmin Paige, Craig Roberts, Chris O'Dowd and Chris Morris also feature in the film.
Ayoade and Avi Korine wrote the script inspired by Fyodor Dostoevsky's novella.
The director is best known from his role in British comedies The It Crowd and The Mighty Boosh. This is his second film following 2010's Submarine.
The Double will arrive in the UK on April 4 and in the Us on May 9.
- 2/19/2014
- Digital Spy
A new UK trailer has arrived online for Richard Ayoade's The Double, in which Jesse Eisenberg finds himself haunted by a man who is his exact double in terms of appearance, and his exact opposite in terms of personality. Based on the novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, the new film follows office drone Simon James (Eisenberg), whose life is turned on its head by the arrival at his workplace of new employee, James Simon (also Eisenberg). The new trailer plays up the off-kilter humour that runs throughout the film, with Eisenberg wringing...
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- 2/19/2014
- by George Wales
- TotalFilm
What would you do if one day you discovered an individual who is not only the exact physical duplicate of yourself, but excelled in everything you ultimately fall short of? Pretty daunting, eh? Well, that’s the main dilemma going through Jesse Eisenberg‘s character Simon James in the newly released trailer for Richard Ayoade‘s doppelgänger comedy [...]
The post Watch: Jesse Eisenberg and Mia Wasikowska in New Trailer for Richard Ayoade’s ‘The Double’ appeared first on Up and Comers.
The post Watch: Jesse Eisenberg and Mia Wasikowska in New Trailer for Richard Ayoade’s ‘The Double’ appeared first on Up and Comers.
- 2/18/2014
- by Alfonso Espina
- UpandComers
It has been just a few days since we last got a look at Richard Ayoade’s second directorial effort, The Double. But while that was a teaser, this is the new full trailer for the film, which finds Jesse Eisenberg having some double trouble. Take a look via Yahoo. Eisenberg handles the dual role of Simon James and James Simon. The former is a nerdy, unimpressive drone whose unsatisfying life is thrown into chaos by the sudden arrival of the latter, his doppelganger. This copy is actually funnier, sexier and much more confident than poor Simon, and soon the new version is creeping (or rather, marching confidently) into all areas of Simon’s life, including his job and the affections of his dream girl, Hannah (Mia Wasikowska).Drawing from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novella, Ayoade wrote the script with Avi Korine and scored a cast that includes Sally Hawkins, Wallace Shawn,...
- 2/18/2014
- EmpireOnline
After a series of playful teasers that focused on atmosphere or tone, or told stories about snakes, a new traditional trailer has arrived for Richard Ayoade's "The Double." Well, about as traditional as a movie like this can get, which is another way of saying, this is truly something special. The latest from the director of "Submarine" drops you into a steampunk world that is wholly conjured, where Jesse Eisenberg's Simon James finds his life unraveling after his exact doppelganger James Simon comes sauntering into view. With an eye on his girl and his job, the much more confident James threatens to reduce the meek Simon to nothing, until of course he decides to fight back. It's a pretty terrific and entertaining movie, one what that tips its hat to Terry Gilliam, but feels very much like its own creation. And that's due to the team involved in making the film,...
- 2/18/2014
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Richard Ayoade's dark comedy The Double is heading to the UK on April 4th from StudioCanal (we get it here in the States a month later from Magnolia Pictures), and to get our mates across the pond ready for it, here's a new trailer.
The Double is directed by Ayoade, who co-wrote the script with Avi Korine based on a Fyodor Dostoevsky novella. It stars Jesse Eisenberg in a dual role along with Mia Wasikowska, Wallace Shawn, Yasmin Paige, Noah Taylor, James Fox, Cathy Moriarty, Chris O'Dowd, Sally Hawkins, Craig Roberts, and Paddy Considine.
Synopsis:
Simon James is a ghost. Friends, family, and coworkers meet his every action with complete indifference. He grimly goes through the motions, hoping for recognition that never comes. All of this changes when James Simon arrives.
Physically, James and Simon are dead ringers. Yet, in temperament, James is everything Simon is not: personable, spontaneous,...
The Double is directed by Ayoade, who co-wrote the script with Avi Korine based on a Fyodor Dostoevsky novella. It stars Jesse Eisenberg in a dual role along with Mia Wasikowska, Wallace Shawn, Yasmin Paige, Noah Taylor, James Fox, Cathy Moriarty, Chris O'Dowd, Sally Hawkins, Craig Roberts, and Paddy Considine.
Synopsis:
Simon James is a ghost. Friends, family, and coworkers meet his every action with complete indifference. He grimly goes through the motions, hoping for recognition that never comes. All of this changes when James Simon arrives.
Physically, James and Simon are dead ringers. Yet, in temperament, James is everything Simon is not: personable, spontaneous,...
- 2/10/2014
- by Debi Moore
- DreadCentral.com
With definite hints of Terry Gilliam and the early absurdity of Charlie Kaufman, everything we’ve seen of Darkplace/I.T. Crowd veteran and Submarine director Richard Ayoade’s latest, The Double, has ready to watch it. Now here comes another stylish trailer for the film, which should keep the anticipation cooking. Jesse Eisenberg handles the dual role of Simon James, a nerdy, unimpressive drone whose unsatisfying life is thrown into chaos by the sudden arrival of his doppelganger, James Simon. This copy is actually funnier, sexier and much more confident than poor Simon, and soon – as the story spun in the voice-over here suggests – the original (or is he?) is under threat from his more impressive double.Drawing from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novella, Ayoade wrote the script with Avi Korine and scored a cast that includes Mia Wasikowska, Sally Hawkins, Wallace Shawn, James Fox, Paddy Considine, Noah Taylor, Yasmin Paige,...
- 2/10/2014
- EmpireOnline
What would happen if you met your exact doppleganger, except he was more successful, sexier, cleverer and more confident than you were? That's the dilemma facing Jesse Eisenberg's Simon James in Richard Ayoade's entertaining "The Double." And another inventive trailer is here for the film. Based on the novella by Fyodor Dostoevsky, the film takes the story into a steampunk future/present where Eisenberg gives a dual turn as the meek Simon James and his far more charismatic double James Simon. Mia Wasikowska is the girl in the middle of the pair, with a pretty terrific ensemble of players (Wallace Shawn, James Fox, Cathy Moriarty, Yasmin Page and Noah Taylor) rounding out this fascinating, beautifully constructed world in a film that we called "totally bonkers, hilarious and wickedly clever." "The Double" opens in the UK on April 4th and in the Us on May 9th. Watch below.
- 2/10/2014
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Title: The Double Director: Richard Ayoade Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Mia Wasikowska, Wallace Shawn, Noah Taylor, Cathy Moriarty, James Fox There are many ways to establish a dystopia. Isolating one character and making his loneliness felt is one of the most effective, and it helps if all around him is relatively gray and mellow. In the first scene of The Double, Simon James (Jesse Eisenberg) is asked to get up on the subway because he’s in another passenger’s seat, despite the fact that the train car has no one else in it. Everything about Simon’s life is lackluster, and he is constantly trampled on and unnoticed, living as if he does [ Read More ]
The post The Double Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post The Double Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 1/20/2014
- by abe
- ShockYa
The Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art today revealed the first seven official selections for their upcoming New Directors/New Films Festival that takes place March 19-30 in New York. This marks the 43rd edition of the event, which is dedicated to the discovery of new works by emerging talent. The seven official selections are (synopses courtesy of Film Linc): The Double (2013) 93 min Director: Richard Ayoade Country: UK Richard Ayoade has built a loyal following with his hilariously off characters, notably the one he plays in the TV series The It Crowd and those that inhabit his 2010 directorial debut, Submarine. His cerebral, visually arresting follow-up, The Double, based on Dostoevsky’s 1846 novella, enters slightly darker territory, and recalls the stylizations of Terry Gilliam. Starring Jesse Eisenberg as both Simon James, a humdrum worker drone, and James Simon, his gregarious doppelgänger, the film is set.
- 1/14/2014
- by Indiewire
- Indiewire
Richard Ayoade's dark comedy The Double is set to make its Sundance premiere on January 17th in the fest's Spotlight section, and in honor of the occasion we have the official poster and an international teaser trailer to share.
The Double is directed by Ayoade, who co-wrote the script with Avi Korine. It stars Jesse Eisenberg in a dual role along with Mia Wasikowska, Wallace Shawn, Yasmin Paige, Noah Taylor, James Fox, Cathy Moriarty, Chris O'Dowd, Sally Hawkins, Craig Roberts, and Paddy Considine. Some cast, right? We'll be keeping an eye out for Magnolia Pictures to announce the release date.
Synopsis:
Simon James is a ghost. Friends, family, and coworkers meet his every action with complete indifference. He grimly goes through the motions, hoping for recognition that never comes. All of this changes when James Simon arrives.
Physically, James and Simon are dead ringers. Yet, in temperament, James is everything Simon is not: personable,...
The Double is directed by Ayoade, who co-wrote the script with Avi Korine. It stars Jesse Eisenberg in a dual role along with Mia Wasikowska, Wallace Shawn, Yasmin Paige, Noah Taylor, James Fox, Cathy Moriarty, Chris O'Dowd, Sally Hawkins, Craig Roberts, and Paddy Considine. Some cast, right? We'll be keeping an eye out for Magnolia Pictures to announce the release date.
Synopsis:
Simon James is a ghost. Friends, family, and coworkers meet his every action with complete indifference. He grimly goes through the motions, hoping for recognition that never comes. All of this changes when James Simon arrives.
Physically, James and Simon are dead ringers. Yet, in temperament, James is everything Simon is not: personable,...
- 1/13/2014
- by Debi Moore
- DreadCentral.com
The Double has debuted a short teaser trailer.
Jesse Eisenberg stars as two men in Richard Ayoade's upcoming comedy thriller (via Total Film).
The film centres around Simon James (Eisenberg), whose ordinary life is turned upside down by the arrival of a doppelgänger.
The double goes after his job, his girlfriend (Mia Wasikowska) and everything else he owns.
Jake Gyllenhaal will also be seen next year in Enemy. Based on Jose Saramago's novel - also titled The Double - it sees a school teacher discover an actor who is his exact duplicate.
The Double will open on April 4, 2014 in the UK. A Us release date is yet to be announced.
Catch up on all the latest TV and Movies releases in Digital Spy's Screen Time:...
Jesse Eisenberg stars as two men in Richard Ayoade's upcoming comedy thriller (via Total Film).
The film centres around Simon James (Eisenberg), whose ordinary life is turned upside down by the arrival of a doppelgänger.
The double goes after his job, his girlfriend (Mia Wasikowska) and everything else he owns.
Jake Gyllenhaal will also be seen next year in Enemy. Based on Jose Saramago's novel - also titled The Double - it sees a school teacher discover an actor who is his exact duplicate.
The Double will open on April 4, 2014 in the UK. A Us release date is yet to be announced.
Catch up on all the latest TV and Movies releases in Digital Spy's Screen Time:...
- 12/18/2013
- Digital Spy
If you’re the sort of person who thinks that the main drawback of any movie starring Jesse Eisenberg is that there’s only one Jesse Eisenberg in it, then boy are you in for a real treat. Through the miracle of modern filmmaking technology, director Richard Ayoade has somehow managed to have Eisenberg star in a movie opposite himself, sometimes even in the very same shot! The movie in which this magic occurs is the upcoming The Double, which is based on a novella by Russian ball of sunshine Fyodor Dostoevsky.
For those who didn’t go through college wearing black and reading bleak Russian literature, Dostoyevsky’s story revolves around Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin, a meek government clerk who encounters a man who is his doppelganger in every way except he’s much cooler and more outgoing and everyone wants to party with him. In the film version, Golyadkin has been renamed Simon James,...
For those who didn’t go through college wearing black and reading bleak Russian literature, Dostoyevsky’s story revolves around Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin, a meek government clerk who encounters a man who is his doppelganger in every way except he’s much cooler and more outgoing and everyone wants to party with him. In the film version, Golyadkin has been renamed Simon James,...
- 12/18/2013
- by Jeremy Clymer
- We Got This Covered
The pleasures to be found in Richard Ayoade's upcoming "The Double" go far beyond Jesse Eisenberg's dual performance that powers the movie. From the great score by Andrew Hewitt, to the production design from David Crank, every inch of the "Submarine" director's film has been carefully considered and thought through. That it all comes together as a near flawless steampunk comedy/romance/thriller is the icing on the cake. With the film headed to theaters abroad, a new teaser trailer has landed for "The Double," giving a pretty good sense of the tone of the flick. The story follows the nebbish Simon James, whose dull, ordinary and routine life is turned totally upside down when a doppelganger comes gunning for his job, his girl (played by Mia Wasikowska) and his personality. Surreal and hilarious all at once, the film is a Kafka-esque nightmare that we called out of...
- 12/17/2013
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
No, you don’t need to adjust the prescription on your glasses; your vision is just fine. It’s the posters for Richard Ayoade‘s The Double, featuring stars Jesse Eisenberg and Mia Wasikowska, that are a bit off. The Double, based on the Fyodor Dostoevsky novella of the same name, centers on the meek Simon James, whose world is turned upside down with the arrival of his doppleganger. Everything Simon is not, the doppleganger takes over his life, sliding into his job and wooing his girl without anyone even remembering Simon existed. Watch the trailer here. The character posters for Eisenberg and Wasikowska are dark Rorschach-like headshots that split the characters down the middle, showing them almost morphing into two separate people. There’s something sinister about that hint of a smile in Wasikowska’s eyes, isn’t there? Our own Kate Erbland reviewed the film at Tiff, and said that the film has “a wonderfully...
- 10/11/2013
- by Samantha Wilson
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
One our our favorite films out Tiff last month, and a bold sophomore feature effort from "Submarine" director Richard Ayoade, trying to describe "The Double" is a bit difficult. But if the idea of a steampunk, "Brazil"-esque black comedy based on the novella by Fyodor Dostoevsky sounds even remotely intriguing, than this film will more than deliver. A couple of new character posters have dropped for the leads in the film, Jesse Eisenberg and Mia Wasikowska, giving their headshots a stylish treatment for an equally stylish film. "The Double" centers around the meek and awkward Simon James who finds his drab life upended which his doppelganger shows and starts taking over his job, going after his girl and doing all the things he's ever dreamed of. Featuring a large ensemble, and a couple of sly cameos, the film is a distinct pleasure, featuring bold visuals, bleak laughs and a...
- 10/11/2013
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Richard Ayoade is following up his critically-acclaimed debut, Submarine, with something slightly different: a fresh take on Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novella The Double, with Jesse Eisenberg playing both the lead and his doppelganger, and Mia Wasikowska their/his unrequited love. And to celebrate the film's screenings at the London Film Festival, here are two new and exclusive posters for it.Taking inspiration from the original text rather than slavishly following it to the letter, Ayoade's interpretation is far easier to enjoy than Dostoyevsky's treatise on madness and human decency. There are even a few curious cameos to enjoy along the way. Look out for Chris O'Dowd, for example, as well as Paddy Considine in a role that we're praying will live on in another medium somehow, somewhere, sometime.Without revealing too much, the plot centres on Eisenberg's shy and lonely Simon James and his much more vivacious and charming human facsimile,...
- 10/11/2013
- EmpireOnline
The Double
Written by Avi Korine and Richard Ayoade
Directed by Richard Ayoade
UK, 2013
Better to have an ungainly surplus of ideas than none at all; that seems to be Richard Ayoade’s philosophy behind The Double, a wild, uneven, but never dull sci-fi black comedy that purports to tackle Dostoevsky’s novella of the same name, but is at least as interested in pilfering visual ideas from films gone by while marrying them to Ayoade’s winningly dry comic sensibility.
Set in a bleak retro-futuristic dystopia, The Double stars Jesse Eisenberg, who amplifies his usual bumbling manner for slapstick’s sake, as Simon James, a number-cruncher at a massive corporation whose precise purpose is deliberately ambiguous. Simon dreams of climbing up the corporate ladder by earning the praise of his boss (Wallace Shawn) and makes pathetic attempts to flirt with a fellow employee, Hannah (Mia Wasikowska), but his persistent...
Written by Avi Korine and Richard Ayoade
Directed by Richard Ayoade
UK, 2013
Better to have an ungainly surplus of ideas than none at all; that seems to be Richard Ayoade’s philosophy behind The Double, a wild, uneven, but never dull sci-fi black comedy that purports to tackle Dostoevsky’s novella of the same name, but is at least as interested in pilfering visual ideas from films gone by while marrying them to Ayoade’s winningly dry comic sensibility.
Set in a bleak retro-futuristic dystopia, The Double stars Jesse Eisenberg, who amplifies his usual bumbling manner for slapstick’s sake, as Simon James, a number-cruncher at a massive corporation whose precise purpose is deliberately ambiguous. Simon dreams of climbing up the corporate ladder by earning the praise of his boss (Wallace Shawn) and makes pathetic attempts to flirt with a fellow employee, Hannah (Mia Wasikowska), but his persistent...
- 9/12/2013
- by Simon Howell
- SoundOnSight
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