'Enemy' finds Jake Gyllenhaal doing double duty
Gyllenhaal plays both a history professor and his doppelgänger, and director Denis Villeneuve piles on the weirdness.
Jake Gyllenhaal stars in 'Enemy.'
Courtesy of A24
Canadian director Denis Villeneuve directed “Enemy,” loosely derived from a novel by Nobel Prize winner José Saramago, just before he made last year’s “Prisoners.” Both star Jake Gyllenhaal, which is the best thing to be said about each film. “Enemy” actually has Gyllenhaal in two roles, as an indrawn history professor as well as his doppelgänger, an extra he notices in a DVD movie and whom he tracks down.
Movies about doubles are, almost by definition, creepy, but Villeneuve, not to be outdone, piles on the weirdness. He’s big on spider imagery, but the web is flimsy. Grade: B- (Rated R for some strong sexual content, graphic nudity, and language.)