Enemy
(2014/Lionsgate Blu-ray)
Picture:
A Sound: A Extras: C- Film: C
Jack
Gyllenhaal stars in dual roles in Enemy - an artistically made
mystery about a school teacher (Gyllenhaal) who meets his exact copy
who is an aspiring actor. The copy looks exactly like him in every
way, down to the beard and scars. Both men are dating beautiful
blondes (Melanie Laurent and Sarah Gadon) - the former is with
child. When the doppelgangers meet in person, their lives start to
parallel in a predictable second act where one takes on the others
life (and woman).
While
the premise is intriguing and the execution is fine filmmaking - very
akin to David Lynch in terms of style, but what the film misses is
any sense of suspense or a character to root for. The film is full
of hidden meanings, sex, arachnophobia, fear of commitment, honesty,
search for meaning of self, etc and I'm sure many art-house movie
goers would probably read in to it far too much. The final act
doesn't take the story to a level that quite pays off its premise in
my opinion.
From
a technical angle, the film is nicely presented in 1080p high
definition with a 2.40:1 aspect ratio. The audio is crisp with
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless track and English and
Spanish subtitles. The film is full of dark shadows and nicely
constructed shots that parallel the psychological intensity of the
characters. The story is the problem here.
The
sole special feature on the disc is Lucid Dreams: The Making of
Enemy featurette.
-
James Harland Lockhart V
www.vimeo.com/jamielockhart
