Denis Villeneuve’s “Enemy”

Enemy (2013)

Twisting and surreal story of commitment, love, identity and temptation told through a Kafka-esque lens

Based loosely on José Saramago's 2002 novel The Double, this master work requires effort from the audience to unravel its layers but it’s a satisfying exercise with one of the best and most memorable endings I’ve seen in a while. Virtually every detail in the film serves a clear purpose toward telling its story of college history professor Adam Bell (Jake Gyllenhaal) who discovers an actor in a film who bears a striking resemblance to him.

Open to a variety of ways to read the film but to me (there are many conflicting analysis) but there is one clear interpretation which squarely makes this a film about commitment, love, identity and temptation that nicely escalates through to the final frame. Though I’ve described the film as Kafka-esque, it is in no way inaccessible. On its surface, it’s a relatively straight-forward and compelling story though the final act might be baffling without having solved the puzzle. That said, once solved, it’s quite obvious and rewards repeat viewings.