Ever felt invisible in your own life? (The Double)

There are moments in everyone’s life when they’ve felt invisible. Whether as an adult or a child, life seems to be passing you by, everyone racing ahead of you and no one notices. What if that person who was racing ahead of you looked exactly like you? It’s you, but a more confident, charismatic you. What would you do?

Thanks to Madman

Set in a glum, colourless world of indeterminable era, we meet Simon James (Jesse Eisenberg) a government worker eking out his days in one of a long line of drab cubicles. The department works with vast data sets which their passionate leader says ‘gives faceless people immortality.’

Thanks to Madman

Simon is as insecure and unconfident as his oversized suit is ill-fitting. If ever there was someone to be picked on he was it.

Thanks to Madman

His brilliant work ideas are overlooked, his family consider him ‘strange’, and the woman of his dreams Hannah (Mia Wasikowska) doesn’t notice him.

In his own words he feels ‘outside himself’ and describes himself as ‘not being who you want to be.’

Enter the new employee James Simon, who is exactly like Simon in everyway, same height, same build, same face, there’s only one difference … his personality.

Thanks to Madman

James fills out the bland suit a little better, he’s confident, charismatic, slick. His outlook … ‘go after what you want,’ and ‘make sure you own your own life.’ As James increases his command of the workplace, Simon is in danger of not just being forgotten, but being erased from the system altogether. What can he do?

Thanks to Madman

Every now and then there’s a movie that leaves you pondering A LOT. Usually when you stand in the inevitable line for the females toilets after a movie premier, everyone is a buzz discussing the movie, on this occasion … silence. I was moving through a sea of pondering, while everyone was trying to work out what had just happened…

Director Richard Avoade Thanks to Madman

When I asked some people what they thought, it was obvious that they’d enjoyed the movie …

Visually the movie had drawn them into the dark world
Jesse Eisenberg’s double performance was believable and intriguing
Noah Taylor fitted into the world as if he was born there
They’d laughed at the darkest pieces of comedy.
The flashing lights in the lift, like the flash of the photocopier made some question how James came to be
But ultimately they too were left pondering … had they missed something?

Richard Avoade Thanks to Madman

The Double, directed by award-wining Richard Avoade (of the IT Crowd fame), is a dark intriguing comedy which touches on issues like … fitting into the system, conquering the system, bullying and dopplegangers. If there were two of you, which would you keep?

I’d love to hear your thoughts after you’ve seen this one.

In cinemas May 29
http://www.lunapalace.com.au