Ayoade Doubles Down on Success

When Richard Ayoade made his directorial debut with Submarine there was some truth to the revelation among critics that suddenly Moss from The IT Crowd was the next Wes Anderson. In addition to the emphasis on all the quaint, twee aesthetics of 1980s Welsh domesticity there was a nakedly unreal quality reminiscent of Anderson's work. In the case of Submarine it was highlighting its own unreality through the narrative framework of a diegetic biographical film seen from the protagonist, Oliver's, perspective.

In The Double however there's no symbiosis between the theme at play and the aesthetic quirkiness for which the film is likely to be noted for. Ayoade constructs a dreary world of wage-slave drudgery made up of clunky, beige machinery and harsh, blaring sound effects. But it's an incidental element this time not a part of its DNA and its presence can become something of a distraction. Admittedly t not as big a distraction as playing Spot the Jobbing British Actor as Ayoade reunites Submarine cast members Sally Hawkins, Noah Taylor, Craig Roberts, Paddy Considine and Yasmin Paige among others.

The film retains only the bones of the Dostoyevsky novel of the same name as office drone Simon James (Jesse Eisenberg) descends into madness upon the appearance of his doppelgänger James Simon (also Eisenberg). Even before the titular double enters the scene Simon finds himself losing proof of his identity. Acknowledged by virtually no one save angelic love object Hannah (Mia Wasikowska) the appearance of James more exacerbates an existing problem that the film spends the first third establishing.

Yes it has to be said that The Double starts off slow, to the point where it seems Jessie Eisenberg won't be able to carry the whole film. But as soon as Jessie Eisenberg shows up then the film gains whole new life. The chemistry between Eisenberg and Eisenberg is electrifying with Eisenberg's meek romantic a perfect foil for Eisenberg's sexually charged slacker.

Okay, in all seriousness Eisenberg nails both roles. Simon James and James Simon are dead-on visual representations of a talented actor's two major comedy personas. The former being the kind of pitiable Michael Cera-esque sad sack we've always known Eisenberg can perform in his sleep. As his more extroverted self though he's a rapid-fire Id, shooting off lines so fast it takes a moment to register that he's said something hilariously horrible. Providing the films biggest laughs in contrast to the stilted, apathetic British humour that permeates the rest of the film. 

That the film manages to maintain its comedic nature as the story veers into more dramatic and darker territory is a blessing. Though it clearly struggles at times, making ill-advised ventures into physical comedy that can't stick the landing. As his loss of identity grows and grows at the hands of James' machination Eisenberg's desperation comes to the fore. His position as the universe's whipping boy, a place where the film once found laughs, becomes a profound tragedy.

If only the same could be said of the ending. The film systematically eliminates the things which define Simon's identity; his appearance, his job, the people he cares about but has little to say about the concept itself. Our desire for identity is something that comes from our society, an overpopulated, over-bureaucratised world of drudgery where our own contribution can seem insignificant. The solution to the loss of this should be more than taking it back even if it is the most efficient for a visual medium.

A shallow ending should not put one off The Double however. It's a visually unique, funny and affecting film. A stand-out duel performance from Eisenberg and proof that Richard Ayoade will be a figure in British film for a while.

Lex Luthor: Eisenberg no Heisenberg?

So...that happened. The last week or so has been so awash with casting rumours that it took a while to establish if this was real or just pumped out by the studios to generate more free press. A stupid assumption really, Man of Steel 2: Justice League All-Stars has seen so many changes and additions it hardly needs to make up stuff to get talked about. Though I'm sure Warner Bros would prefer we weren't talking about it with the same tone one might discuss reconstructing the Titanic or the Wii U.

But whatever the consequences it's true. Jesse Eisenberg, of Zombieland and The Social Network, is going to be Lex Luthor in Man of Steel 2: Electric Boogaloo. My opinion? Good move. I like Eisenberg and not just because my girlfriend thinks I resemble him. The fact is back in the day it was easy to write off Eisenberg as a Michael Cera clone; awkward, stammering skinny white guy inexplicably coming out on top. It was so obvious that apparently even he knew it and endeavoured to avoid that terrible fate Cera had suffered; typecasting.

The Social Network demonstrated how far Eisenberg could take the introvert, playing a detached, calculating, yet somehow endearing Mark Zuckerberg. To follow he went on to play a Seth Rogan-esque slacker in 30 Minutes or Less, the only film where the title explains roughly how long the film would remain in cultural consciousness. And as a member of the orthodox Jewish community and  only thing worth seeing in the crime drama Holy Rollers.

So Eisenberg has the chops to play a Lex Luthor but there's still the one thing everyone's gonna be snarking about on Twitter. At age 30 (and hardly looking it) he'll be the youngest film version of Lex to date after Gene Hackman (48 for Superman) and Kevin Spacey (46 for Superman Returns). And while he's the same age as Superman himself, Henry Cavill, the idea of a younger and specifically young-looking Lex will be hard for some to get on board with.

The reason I don't see it being a major problem though is because I see nothing about Lex Luthor, especially John Byrne's 1986 redesigned buisinessman Lex that most are familiar with, as intrinsically old. After all, who is Lex Luthor? An insanely successful businessman, incredibly proud of with achievements, possessing a genius level intellect, scrupulous morals and a huge seething resentment of Superman. None of these things are the exclusive domain of the old. 

Even today American culture has this idealised image of the hardworking capitalist. Men who've spent lifetimes building an empire on nothing but sweat and pep talks from Uncle Sam. But that doesn't exist anymore, not since the first dot-com millionaire made the Fortune 500 on his parents computer. We live in an age of young billionaires with questionable morals, billionaires just like like Mark Zuckerberg. In fact that's probably what made the penny drop at Warner Bros in the first place.

So yeah Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor? Warner Bros can put that in the win category. Doesn't make me anymore confident that Man of Steel 2:Rise of the Multi-Bear, won't collapse under its own weight but...baby steps.

Oh and about that title? Yeah I would've been psyched to see Superman fight Walter White too. It's thrilling to see a goofy, comic actor like Bryan Cranston getting all these great roles. But Cranston's whole thing is mild mannered guys thrown into dangerous situations and seeing how crazy they go trying to deal. It'd be difficult to pull that off while still taking him serious as a credible threat to freaking Superman. Maybe after he's taken on Godzilla...