Blast from The Past:
Enemy was directed by Denis Villeneuve (Dune franchise), who here steps into the territory of the Davids (Cronenberg and Lynch).
The film ends with Bell carrying on with what seems like it’ll be a happy marriage between him and Claire’s wife, Helen, only for the final moments to reveal that he, like Claire, will cheat on Helen.
The film is metaphorical, using visual storytelling for a tale about one man’s battle with his divided psyche. Claire was seemingly his darker half, so his death could’ve meant a happy ending for Bell and Helen.
But the revelation that Bell has the same unfaithful characteristics as Claire suggests that his darker self, his inner enemy, triumph.
Both director Villeneuve and lead actor Gyllenhaal spoke of their desire to make a challenging Kafka-esque film that explores the subconscious.
To Villeneuve, Enemy is ultimately about repetition: the ability (or inability) to live and learn without repeating the same mistakes.
Regarding the two physically identical characters, he observes: “You don’t know if they are two in reality, or maybe from a subconscious point of view, there’s just one. It’s maybe two sides of the same persona or a fantastic event where you see another self.
“Sometimes you have compulsions that you can’t control coming from the subconscious, they are sort of the dictator inside ourselves.”
Unfortunately, Enemy was a commercial failure, perhaps due to its complex ideas, bizarre narrative–and one of the most frightening endings I’ve seen in a movie.
