Enemy

Watching this film, knowing little to nothing of what would find me, turned out one of the most pleasant film experiences in months. And perhaps it might be necessary to explain 'pleasant' here: the word does not necessarily mean that one is comforted, has fun in the usual meaning. Film-wise it means, at its best, to be challenged. Challenged, here, meant to be glued to the screen. It's a little difficult to write a review on it. I've read through some of the others and saw that almost all reviewers had problems. Some were trying to solve the riddle (the more confidence displayed, the less successful they were). Perhaps it's best to paraphrase what one of the reviewers wrote: try and go through this film as if through a dream, through reality enhanced. Enhanced reality feels very much like the opposite, and this is the feel of the film. From the choice of colours to acting to ambivalence about identity, the result is as hypnotic as it's unsettling. The very simple story is told very plainly, but underlying is the intricacy of a nightmare. The discomfort feels like a single, stretched emotion. Something about this film works wonderfully, and as with the best of literature that narrates between the lines I wasn't always able to tell why (that went the same way for me with the spider-theme: it worked before I understood). The music is an inseparable part of the film. The film wouldn't have been the same with another soundtrack, a large part of what works in it isn't merely carried by it, but co-created. Pleasant also, albeit in a more common sense, to be finally able after quite some time to give a best vote for an achieved fusion of everything that makes a film for the viewer, unsettling, challenging and deeply rewarding. 10 out of 10 Theraphosae.

There are reviews of this movie that boggle my mind, giving it far more credit than it deserves. You can't dangle disjointed, languid nonsense and call it art. It's its too boring to be called farcical, too stupid to be called pretentious, and too apathetic to be called disappointing. The reviews giving this mistake of a movie more credit than it deserves is a prime case of reviewers being too cowardly to say, "This movie makes no sense and has no redeeming qualities." They're too scared that they might be missing some artistic merit to say "This film is meritless." They're too worried they'll be called out by the pseudo-intellectual crowd as ignorant. No, it's thee pretend auteurs that are ignorant. One such IMDB reviewer mentions "the ingenious casting to Isabella Rossellini" as Gyllenhaal's character's mother, but there's nothing ingenious about it. The character Rossellini plays had three minutes of screen time, and five lines. The part could have been player by a mop and had been just as inspired of a casting choice. As for the movie itself, imagine watching paint dry, but every once in a while a spider crawls across the paint and then crawls out of sight, leaving no trace behind it, but infinitely more boring than that scenario. It's like the writer of this film asked a friend at a bar, "Hey, what if you met your doppelganger?" and that friend replied, "I don't know. That'd be weird." and the writer used that as the entire script of the movie. I haven't read the book the film is based on, and I'm too scared I'll kill myself out of boredom to do so.

Summer 2014 has come and gone and with it we got stories of superheroes,dragons,and of course apes on horses!However with the end of the scorcher season comes Autumn,a darker time where darker movies come out and to send of thr summer I end it with a review of a film that tackles adultery,self-conflict,totalitarianism and other much darker themes.The film is called Enemy,and it might be the most compelling film I have seen in 2014. Enemy is the story of history teacher,Adam Bell (JAKE GYLLENHAAL) who,one day out of the blue,gets a movie recommendation EH😃 from a coworker.So he finds the movie at a local rental store and upon a rewatch,discovers that a certain actor in the movie looks exactly like him,minus an awesome beard.So Adam discovers the man is Anthony Claire(ALSO played by GYLLENHAAL),who's a small time actor,who actually happens to live in the same neighborhood himself,and the two look alikes to unravel just what the hell is going on and as a person who really supports going into these kinds of movies as oblivious as possible that's really all I wanna say about the plot.It's a pretty...riveting film to say the least. That being said,this is NOT by any means a movie for everyone!Not just because of the unconventional way the film or the story are crafted,but just because of the touchy subject matter that the movie portrays.The simple story of JAKE GYLLENHAAL'S twin characters may sound like a Lindsay Lohan style,quircky time but let me tell you guys that the story of Enemy,when really looked into,is really a well written and acted story of a man who's trying to overcome his inner demons and personal problems that are wrecking his life and loved ones.It's a hard movie to review and more of a movie for discussion.And THAT ladies and gentlemen is why I like this movie WAY more than most people might!The symbology and images used to tell the story like the use of spiders is great.I love when a movie can tell a story by mere images and scenes that contain very little dialog,it's credit to director,DENIS VILLENEUVE'S excellent vision and the strong cast performances. Which brings me to Mr.JAKE GYLLENHAAL,his performance in this movie is terrific.May I remind you that he plays two roles,which means two different characters,both with their own unique physical trademarks,ways of speaking,even walking posture and that's why I was so blown away by how good,JAKE pulled of his roles.His career has really blossomed as of late and with NIGHTCRAWLER releasing in a few months I've got this guy on my top actors to watch list.There is a supporting cast as well,with MELANIE LAURENT and SARAH GADON both who are really great opposite the two Jakes.I really enjoyed their characters and the raw emotion that they showcase. The movie is technically flawless to me,some people might get turned off by the simple color palette but it really gave the movie the right look and tone.The musical score is also fantastic,you can tell a lot of it may have been inspired by the movies of ALFRED HITCHCOCK like VERTIGO'S classic score.Actually a lot of this entire movie really feels influenced by HITCHCOCK'S work. ENEMY is my favorite kind of movie,one that promotes thought,discussion,and really shows that movies can be SOOO much more than MEGAN FOX running in slo-mo or constant reboots and sequels.There are unique stories that can be told by talented story tellers in ways that may not be told in a traditional,movie way.ENEMY is a movie that sucks you in with it's characters,performances,and sheer mystery at what might happen in the next scene.It's a powerful character study,a really suspenseful psychological thriller and I GIVE IT MY HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION! BUY THIS MOVIE!Unless you can't stand art films,just don't bother. 8/10 What about you guys? Have you seen or even heard of ENEMY? Are you interested? Let me know what you think,drop a comment,and LET'S TALK MOVIES!