The greatest cinematic crime of the year thus far has been the lack of attention and viewership that Richard Ayoade's masterpiece, The Double, has received. An adaptation of Dostoevsky's famous novel of the same name, The Double stars Jessie Eisenberg as Simon, a pathetic employee of some mindless bureaucracy in a dystopian future. Simon barely registers as a blip on existence until James, a doppelganger who looks exactly like him but has all the confidence and charisma that Simon lacks, appears suddenly in his life and tries to give Simon some tips on becoming the man he wishes he was. James though quickly subsumes Simon's life to the point where they begin to threaten each other's own existences, forcing Simon to fight for his place in the world. Stylistically, the film feels like a mix between Terry Gilliam and the Coen Brothers while simultaneously seeming like something you have never seen before. The film's lightning quick pacing, darkly subversive humor, fascinatingly unintelligible soundtrack, and outright brilliant art direction all announce Richard Ayoade as a directorial genius. The film has a terrific cast as well, first and foremost of which is the film's star Jessie Eisenberg, who proves yet again why he is one of the best actors of his generation. Whether you're a fan of science fiction, dystopian futures, existentialism, or jet black satire (Academy member or not), do the world of cinema a favor and find this film.
A film fanatic at a very young age, starting with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movies and gradually moving up to more sophisticated fare, at around the age of ten he became inexplicably obsessed with all things Oscar. With the incredibly trivial power of being able to chronologically name every Best Picture winner from memory, his lifelong goal is to see every Oscar nominated film, in every major category, in the history of the Academy Awards.
