Jesse Eisenberg is a fine actor, but most of the characters he plays boil down to one of two types — timid Jesse Eisenberg or cocky Jesse Eisenberg.
Finally, in 'The Double', he'll get a chance to play both at once.The sophomore feature from director Richard Aoyade (who also helmed 'Submarine' and a bunch of great music videos, but is best remembered for playing Moss in 'The IT Crowd'), 'The Double' is a mysterious comedy built on doppleganger intrigue.
Eisenberg's character, Simon, has his life turned upside down when lookalike James — also Eisenberg — gets hired by his firm and nobody else notices that they are identical in almost every way. The only difference is that Simon is timid and shy, while James is bold and confident — essentially, it's 'Zombieland' Jesse Eisenberg versus 'Social Network' Jesse Eisenberg.
The strangest thing about 'The Double', beyond the kooky plot, is that this movie about dopplegangers has a doppleganger of its own — director Denis Villeneuve's 'Enemy', which stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a man who discovers he has an identical double running around.
It's almost like Ayoade decided to make a parody of 'Enemy' before 'Enemy' actually existed.
The twin films definitely have a 'Deep Impact'/'Armageddon' vibe going on, at the very least, and will premiere around the same time — 'Enemy' on March 14 in the US; 'The Double' on April 4 in the UK.
Should make for a good DOUBLE feature, eh? Eh?
