Denis Villeneuve’s enigmatic film Enemy had a quiet release here so I’m probably a bit late to the party. Although it wasn’t widely seen, I’m sure those that have seen it have had a pretty strong reaction to it. In the following piece I will put forward my take on just what it all means. So, heavy spoilers to follow. As in, this will make no sense if you haven’t seen Enemy. Why haven’t you seen Enemy? Go see Enemy. As for the rest of you, let’s see if we can decipher some chaos.
Enemy introduces us to Jake Gyllenhaal’s Adam, a professor who lives alone in his apartment which is occasionally frequented by his girlfriend, Mary. He catches sight of an actor in a film who looks exactly like him. Eventually we meet the actor, Anthony (also Gyllenhaal), who shares an apartment with his pregnant wife, Helen. The film puts forward a reality where Adam and Anthony wrestle with the fact they are identical in every way which creates great tension between them. Continue reading →