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Reviews
The Double (2013)
A young man confronts his other self.
I hated this movie in a way I can't remember ever hating a movie before. But I started with high expectations because I usually enjoy books and movies about doubles, and I watched patiently through the first five-to-ten minutes. But the film is so pretentious, so pseudo-artsy, and so totally dependent upon images rather than meaningful dialogue that before long I began to wish the movie over. I very much liked the opening scene where Simon is told to move from his subway seat--reminded me of an Ingmar Bergman film--and the movie does pick up once the double enters. But it's all downhill from here. I've liked Jesse Eisenberg and Mia Wasikowska in other films, but they seem emotionless and even mechanical in this one. It's been a long time since I've felt so emotionally uninvolved with a film. I'm glad that I saw it On Demand; if I had paid movie prices to see it, I would have been really ticked off.
Some Girl(s) (2013)
On the brink of marriage, a man arranges reunions with his top five ex-loves.
Some Girl(s) is one of the most original and interesting films I've ever seen. I know that many others have found it "boring" and "pointless," but for me it is fascinating, focused, and brilliant.
The film builds through each of its five major episodes to present the central male character as a charming predator, what his ex-girl-friend Bobbi (Kristen Bell) calls an "emotional terrorist." Nameless throughout, perhaps to suggest his universality, the Man emerges at the male equivalent of the femme fatal, the homme fatal.
Although reviewers have compared the movie unfavorably to High Fidelity, it is by no means a comedy. You won't find Jack Black anywhere around. No, Some Girls is drama, quietly intense drama. As the Man meets with each of his five former loves, the pattern becomes clear: after using his charm, good looks, and perceived decency (!) to win deep love, he suddenly bolts—usually for another woman and often without a word of explanation or apology but always inflicting severe emotional wounds. He is, as Bobbi says, "a killer, an assassin." He is, in the words of Lindsay (Emily Watson), "vampiric," someone who sucks the life out of everyone who cares for him. "People get hurt," Bobbi says. "A part of them dies and never comes back."
Although the Man has arranged these meetings to "make amends" for his past actions, they instead inflict additional pain on the women by forcing them to relive his rejection—and to acknowledge his cruelty. "It hurts," Tyler (Mia Maestro) says.
What makes Some Girl(s) the opposite of comedy is that the Man never learns his lesson, never acknowledges the harm that he has done. As the film concludes, he is flirting with the flight attendant: he will surely find a way to escape from his current fiancée. No happy ending here.
Some Girl(s) is the frighteningly compelling portrait of a consummate narcissist who will continue to justify preying on women who care for him. Beware!