I caught Richard Ayoade‘s The Double at the Toronto Film Festival and wasn’t exactly impressed with what felt like a wannabe Terry Gilliam film that never shifted gears, but instead seemed to be weird for the sake of being weird. Today we learn Magnolia has acquired U.S. rights to the film and plans on releasing it in theaters in 2014 following what the press release describes as “a robust domestic festival run.”
Jesse Eisenberg stars as Simon, ashy and timid man who is ultimately faced with his exact physical double, James, only James has a bit more personality and overall nerve. Along with Eisenberg the film co-stars Mia Wasikowska, Wallace Shawn, Chris O’Dowd, Sally Hawkins, Paddy Considine and many others.
Quoting my review, I wrote:
Richard Ayoade’s The Double is a Terry Gilliam-esque journey into the psyche of a man that has lost his sense of self. Twisted and strange, I couldn’t get into it in the slightest as it deals with a guy suffering from something of a psychotic breakdown as his life is slowly taken over by his doppelgänger. It’s all so obvious, the strange narrative and world Ayoade has created feels as if it’s weird for the sake of being weird, almost as a justification for why the film exists at all. I understand there are people that will fall head over heels for this kind of storytelling, that’s fine, I’m just not one of them.
You can read the full review right here and check out a couple UK posters for the film directly below courtesy of Empire.
