Enemy (2014)

[bigburner]

This surreal drama by director Denis Villeneuve and starring Jake Gyllenhaal made a bigger impact on me than any other film I've seen since Take Shelter (2011). I've now watched it twice and I'm still confused. I plan to watch it again to check out my theories and fill in some gaps. That's how damn fascinating / confusing it is. I won't even begin to explain the plot to you other than to say it's a variation of the doppelgänger theme.

This film could be a little masterpiece. Has anyone else here seen it? What did you think?

Nigel.

[George Bellefontaine]

I haven't seen it, Nigel, but I do love those fascinating/confusing things, so I hope to rent it sometime.

[Ovation]

Already on my list of things to see, as I enjoyed their last collaboration quite a bit.

[aud19]

Watched Enemy last night and...I'm not really sure what to rate it.

On one hand, it's thought provoking and well acted and any movie that has me still actively pondering it a day later has historically been "good".

On the other hand the entire thing (understandably for those who've seen it) had a very dream-like quality to it. Flitting moments of almost tangible reality, seemingly just out of reach. It had a very unfocused and hollow feel to it that left me feeling unsatisfied as a viewer. Particularly with the ending.

Both brilliant and disappointing at the same time...what the hell do you rate that?! :lol:

[Chris D]

Very interesting. That sounds like the way that I still feel about "Lost in Translation". Can't figure out if I love it or hate it. You guys have me curious, and I've added it to the Netflix queue.

FWIW, I see the average rating on Netflix is 2.5 stars. That's not a good sign, as I've found that a lot of Netflix viewers are complete idiots, and just about every movie I come across is rated 3.5 stars or higher, no matter how bad it is.

[Ovation]

But 2.5 is exactly what one would expect for a film where one has a tough time deciding if it it's a "loved it" or "hated it" experience.

[aud19]

Interested to hear your thoughts Chris...I'm still not sure if I liked it or not. Don't think I'll ever know for sure :lol:

[Chris D]

Netflixed it. hated it. (other than the boobie shots)

Sorry.

I do see what you guys are saying, and there's elements that hint at sophistication. To be sure, I'm even watching it again now, in case I missed some brilliant something that turns it all around. But so far, the best descriptor I can come up with is "mush". :15: out of :5:

EDIT: I watched the extras, which was a "making of the movie" with the director, producers, and cast, and unfortunately it just confirmed everything in my mind, that it was pretentious "let's be mysterious and edgy" with little real underlying substance. The interviews could be summed up with (and almost even flat-out stated), "we made a movie with two characters who look the same, so it's deep and philosophical because you don't know if they're two identical people, or whether they're really the same." Also, they even admitted the spiders weren't in the book, they just added them to make it more mysterious and confusing.

Booooo....