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Mar 17, 2014 By Zach Hollwedel Web Exclusive

Jake Gyllenhaal is Adam, a collegiate-level history teacher with a come-and-go girlfriend and a loose grip on his sanity. One night, unable to sleep, he pops a movie into his DVD player and recognizes a very familiar face in one scene: his own. Pushed even closer to madness by the appearance of his doppelganger, Adam tracks down the fledgling actor, Anthony (also Gyllenhaal). Adam and Anthony meet; while Anthony is fascinated by and sees opportunities in their identical appearance, Adam becomes more unhinged and unable to cope with the similarity.

Enemy is not for viewers who seek answers from the films they watch. In fact, it seems fundamentally opposed to providing them. The film is a complicated, dark, deliberately paced puzzle, though it is hard to tell if all the pieces are there – and at the glacial rate at which it moves, it is hard to remain focused enough to catch what clues there might be. Gullón’s screenplay, based on the novel by José Saramago, is infused with imagery, repetition, dream sequences, and a morose tedium that collude to form more of a psychological tease than thriller. The premise is there, but the filmmakers are so concerned with keeping their audience guessing that they fail to provide enough foundation upon which to speculate. Is Adam Anthony? Is this a case of split personality? Adam’s sanity is already in question, so that’s the easy answer. But is it the right one? Is there enough evidence either way? What are the alternatives? One could go back for a second (and, probably, third) viewing to try to put the film together, but it’s doubtful they’d have any desire to.

enemy-movie.com

Author rating: 3.5/10