Parents' Guide to

The Double

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Bleak, bizarre dystopian comedy based on Dostoyevsky story.

Movie R 2014 93 minutes
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Is It Any Good?

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Kids say (5):

As with his film Submarine, director Richard Ayoade doesn't really bring anything new to the screen here, but what he does bring is flush with style and a special kind of grim, darkly comic energy. THE DOUBLE employs an unsettling kind of hissing, rattling soundtrack, much like many of David Lynch's movies. Add an environment of hopeless offices and apartments, set in a weird alternate future with old-fashioned dial phones and tube TV sets, and you have a genuine Kafka feel, with a dash of Brazil thrown in.

Despite this bleak sensibility, Eisenberg brings a strong sense of humanity and identity to his dual role, perfectly fitting both the pained, passive part as well as the cocky, aggressive part. His angular face somehow becomes either handsome or nerdy when the occasion arises. It's a heartfelt performance in what might have been a constricting movie, and Wasikowska perfectly compliments him. Neat little cameos add some welcome humor, making the darkness tolerable and even enjoyable.

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