Posted: 01/30/2012

The Double

(2011)

by Joe Sanders

Available on Blu-Ray and DVD from Image Entertainment on January 31

A deadly Soviet assassin called Cassius thought to be long dead kills a US Senator. So naturally, the CIA agent (Richard Gere, Chicaco) who devoted his career to catching Cassius is brought out of retirement to team up with an arrogant young FBI agent (Topher Grace, Spider-man 3) to stop Cassius once and for all. Fairly straight forward formula, right? Except The Double has one big twist; not only is Richard Gere’s character Paul and Cassius the same person, but the film does not try to conceal this secret until the end of the film, springing a huge twist ending on the audience which we’d probably guess anyway. This simple use of dramatic irony, letting the audience know more than the characters in the movie do, does wonders for making this film fresh and interesting throughout.

Not being a huge fan of Richard Gere’s work myself, I found it refreshing to see him take on the role of the villain here. In fact, the entire cast feels slightly out of place in their respective roles. Topher Grace, who typically only does comedies and more light-hearted endeavors, flexes a new dramatic muscle here which pays off nicely, and Stephen Moyer takes a break from being a brooding, conscience plagued vampire on HBO’s True Blood to play a monster more akin to Hannibal Lector (not to give Mr. Moyer’s performance too much credit). The exception to this idea of pushing actors outside of their comfort zone is probably Martin Sheen, who plays the head of the CIA here and honestly could make any role seem as natural to him as his own personality.

While the acting here is good, and the pacing works excellently towards our final climax, the film’s biggest problem is in its conception. Writers Michael Brandt and Derek Haas (Wanted) have a knack for creating interesting characters and premises, but much like in Wanted, once you start to question the rules of the world and the believability of this reality, it begins to fall apart somewhat. So, a definite suspension of disbelief is mandatory here, but if the audience can pull that off, then they’re likely in for a fun little thriller that at least strives to do something new with the genre, and that by itself is commendable.

The Blu-Ray for the double looks pretty good, with nice visual settings in and around Washington D.C., so if you have the option, try picking it up in Hi-def. Special features include commentary by Michael Brandt (who also directs) and Derek Haas (who also produces), the original trailer, and a behind the scenes featurette.

Joe Sanders is a playwright and college instructor in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He has a Master’s degree in playwriting and a Bachelor’s degree in creative writing from Western Michigan University, where he currently teaches Thought and Writing.

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