Enemy qualifies as a Canadian film, even though the film is one of Denis Villeneuve's post-Quebec films.
Jake Gyllenhaal plays Adam Bell, a mild-mannered professor, and Anthony Claire, a hyper small-time actor. If you love Jake Gyllenhaal, you should see this film regardless of anything else we say.
Mélanie Laurent plays Adam's girlfriend Mary and Sarah Gadon (Canadian) plays Anthony's very pregnant wife Helen. Isabella Rossellini, who has done a few Canadian films, plays Mother.
Anthony is a member of a secret sex club. Adam is curious about this once he finds out about it. There is the curiosity about being with each other's partner. The implication, given Helen 6-month pregnancy status, is that Anthony is running around because his wife is pregnant. No one ever says this in the film but that is an easy and yes, lazy, conclusion.
The women in this film have little reference. That is particularly sad given Villeneuve's earlier work such as Maelstrom and Polytecnhnique. Hollywood isn't kind to women on screen. Mary and Helen (and Mother) have really interesting stories, but Villeneuve isn't interested in those stories.
The music throughout the film implies tension, but the film suffers from a lack of tension. You kind of know what will happen and nothing seems too much of a shock or surprise. The film is surprisingly short at about 90 minutes. The story has potential but needed a wider portrayal than just obsessing about the dual Gyllenhaals on screen.
This often happens when a film gets rewarded for the premise introduced, not what the filmmakers do with the premise. Villeneuve wrote and directed his acclaimed Quebecois films but did not write the screenplay for Enemy. Javier Gullón wrote the screenplay, loosely adapted from the José Saramago 2002 novel The Double.
The key difference for Villeneuve and Jean-Marc Vallée and other Canadian directors who cross over is that they don't write their own scripts. Directors in Hollywood type films don't have as much creative control unless they reach a certain level. Quentin Tarantino does writes his own scripts, but that is rare in Hollywood.
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The 2013 film did shoot in Toronto and doesn't pretend otherwise. Anthony and Helen live in Mississauga. Other actors are likely Canadian but they are mostly less than background scenery.
Enemy isn't a bad film, just way below what Villeneuve had done previously. Any above-average director could have done this picture. Villeneuve is a more talented director than what we saw in Enemy.
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Despite our review, others found more positive elements within the film.
Enemy won 4 Canadian Screen Awards out of 5 nominations. Villeneuve (Best Director), Gadon (Actress in a supporting role), Nicolas Bolduc (Cinematography), and Matthew Hannam (Editing) won awards.
The film lost out for Best Motion Picture to Gabrielle. The other nominees that year were Empire of Dirt, The F Word, The Grand Seduction, Tom at the Farm | Tom à la ferme, The Dismantling | Le Démantèlement, and Maïna. We've seen all but the last 2 titles. Would rank Enemy above The F Word and maybe The Grand Seduction but below the other Canadian film titles we've seen.
Enemy won Best Canadian Film of the Year at the 2014 Toronto Film Critics Association Awards. The film edged out The F Word and Xavier Dolan's Mommy.
photo credit: Enemy film
video credit: YouTube/Movieclips Trailers
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