Hollywood has become so predictable and so formulaic over the last few decades -- take a franchise and beat it to death until it becomes unrecognizable, put the same star in every possible role until even his fans can't stand him anymore -- that we occasionally forget there are real film makers out there with real talent, film makers who have the ability to impact their audience without the need for formula or name talent. Clearly, one such talent is Villeneuve, who can literally take the most mundane action (drinking coffee, looking out a window, writing on a blackboard) and imbue it with multiple shades of meaning. This is not a common skill. Hitchcock had it. De Palma had it (for all the good it did him). So, assuming you have this gift, what do you do with it? It is interesting to note another recent release, Blue Ruin, where we have yet another director with a very special talent. But there the similarity ends. In Blue Ruin, the director ultimately produced a spectacular piece of entertainment, the audience is hooked until the final scene. Villeneuve has gone a different route. The source material and indeed the movie itself are shockingly self-indulgent and, at the end of the day, not especially satisfying. Sure Gyllenhaal does a great job but that is not enough. At the end of the film, the audience has more in common with a passing motorist who "rubbernecks" a crash site (double meaning intended) than a film-goer who has just been entertained.
Review of Enemy
