REVIEW - THE DOUBLE

Richard Ayoade applies his already-distinctive directorial manner to Dostoyevsky in The Double, an intentionally curious and thus curiously inert drama. The numerous quirks he contributes to the classic tale are largely short-lasting and ineffectual, though often beguiling in the moment - they draw attention to the deficiency of actual substance in Ayoade's style, and to its derivativeness. Yet it is a style over which he holds considerable command, and there's much to appreciate in a filmmaker with a clear sense of what they wish to achieve, and a high degree of success in achieving it, and with such artistry. Ayoade borrows a lot of the artistry he deploys in The Double, with its dystopian noir aesthetic and its aloof affectations - his is a cinema of reference, made for those who have been weaned on postmodern pop culture. It's not entirely clear whether his more esoteric ambitions conflict with this commercialism or contribute to it. I'm inclined to believe the former, since conflict reigns over this film: obsessively-detailed shot construction conflicts with a restless, roaming camera, stylised production details conflict with Ayoade's emotional, human concerns, a hearkening back to the era of the 1980s conflicts with the futuristic feel of the films actively being aped here. Cumulatively, this provides much to admire, yet little in the way of cohesion, and one wonders if a tactful pruning of concepts might have allowed for more development among those remaining, and a more vivid sense of tone. That irksome feeling that the balance is ever-oscillating does not seem wilful on Ayoade's behalf, even as it may handily reflect the central rivalry between a nebbish and his charismatic doppelganger, both of whom are dexterously played by a smartly-cast Jesse Eisenberg.