Ellington

Imagine for a second that, somewhere in the world, exists a person that not only vaguely resembles your appearance but looks exactly like you. This person could be your identical twin, but you've never met him before. In fact, you're an only child and thoroughly stunned by this piece of information. This is how the movie "Enemy," starring Jake Gyllenhaal and directed by Denis Villeneuve, captured my imagination.

Gyllenhaal plays two characters, Adam and Anthony. Adam is a lowly college professor who is unhappy with his life. He often stays at home in his bland apartment, located in an ordinary apartment building. He appears distracted when teaching, sometimes losing his thought process and repeating the same points during a lecture. His girlfriend comes over for dinner, and they have sex afterward. He lies in bed while she dresses and then leaves his apartment. It's a pattern established early in "Enemy."

But one day at work, Adam's coworker mentions a movie Adam must see. "I don't really like movies," Adam responds. But later that day, he decides to rent it. He watches it and then wakes up in the middle of the night after dreaming about it. He gets out his laptop and pauses a scene. Here we meet Anthony, Adam's mirror image.

Anthony is an actor who only appears as an extra in a handful of movies. Amazingly, both Adam and Anthony live in the same city, so Adam decides to track down his doppelgaenger, who lives nearby with his pregnant wife. In contrast to Adam, Anthony is volatile and finds it difficult to remain faithful to his wife.

Villeneuve chooses to color scenes in Adam's apartment in muted, yellow-y tones. Every object appears the same, suggesting Adam does not value one possession over another, including his girlfriend. Panoramic shots of the city serve as interludes between scenes. These shots are anonymous—without landmarks or sweeping skyline views—and mirror Anthony's and Adam's life.

Spiders feature prominently in random scenes: scurrying across the stage at a sex show, a spider silhouette hovering above the city and a giant spider in the corner of a bedroom. Various interpretations exist for these arachnid appearances; the real meaning is open for debate. The cast signed confidentiality agreements stating they would not delve into the discussion. Personally, I view each appearance as a manifestation of the main characters' inability to control a situation, whether it's Anthony's sexual appetite or Adam's life in general.

The dialogue makes one question reality and consider fantasy. For example, Adam has a conversation with his mother (Isabella Rossellini), who claims the whole situation is ridiculous because he is "an only child." Adam declines blueberries when his mother offers them, and Anthony asks his wife about organic blueberries he requested "for a drink." This serves as evidence that Adam and Anthony are indeed two separate people. However, Adam's mother quips about Adam's desire to be an actor when he was a child.

My experience as a viewer paralleled Adam's life to a degree; I questioned what was real and Adam questioned the logic behind such a strange circumstance in his life. This is the type of film that will stick with you, prompting an internal debate over the meaning behind each line of dialogue and camera shot. The intricacies of the film are reminiscent of life, where banalities can lead us in unexpected directions.

"Enemy" came out on limited release March 14. The film is available for purchase on Amazon, iTunes and other media outlets.