Asking for your attention at all times, providing little clues in almost every sequence & still leaving you puzzled in the end, Enemy inclines more towards art house cinema than mainstream features and isn't going to please every viewer out there. It tells the story of a college professor living a mundane daily life who later seeks out his doppelgänger after spotting him in a movie thus setting in motion a chain of events which culminates with terrible consequences.
Directed by Denis Villeneuve (director of Incendies & Prisoners), Enemy is an ambitious work from the director who, of lately, has been steadily rising as one of the filmmakers to watch out for and is another fine feature in his bag. The writing makes a fine adaptation from the novel it's based on but also infuses more allegories & symbolism in the form of spiders into the script to keep the viewers guessing from start to finish.
Performances by the cast is very good with Jake Gyllenhaal playing the college professor & his lookalike movie actor with fine subtlety & the contribution by the supporting cast is strong as well. Cinematography captures the film with a very warm colour temperature blended with high contrasts along with excellent use of lighting. The background score has a pretty muted presence in here & editing has carefully structured the film with layers after layers of visual motifs.
One thing that'll bug its audience is if Jake Gyllenhaal characters are different persons or same. Other thing that'll leave them utterly confused is the ending if they still haven't figured out the meaning of spiders in the film. But hints are provided throughout its runtime & repeated viewings will only help in clearing those doubts. On an overall scale, Enemy is that brain-teasing cinematic ride which viewers would either risk to experience or reject it outright. Multiple viewings advised.
