The Double

Richard Ayoade’s stylish and sinister adaptation of Dostoevsky’s story stars Jesse Eisenberg in a dual-role as a timid office clerk confronted by his confident, scheming doppelganger.

Richard Ayoade’s follows his quirky comedy Submarine with something altogether more sinister and stylised. Jesse Eisenberg excels in a dual-role as a timid office clerk working in an ominous corporate organisation who’s confronted by his alter-ego, a confident and ambitious doppelganger who embodies and enacts his unrealised desires.

Ayoade updates Dostoevsky’s celebrated novella with expressionistic flair, while retaining some of the dry wit and idiosyncrasy associated with his onscreen persona (the soundtrack is peppered with Japanese rockabilly). The film also features a wildly eclectic supporting cast that includes Mia Wasikowska, Cathy Moriarty, Christopher Morris, Sally Hawkins and Chris O’Dowd. The Double received its UK premiere at the BFI London Film Festival 2013.