Enemy

[Faustus5]

Anyone see this Denis Villeneuve movie staring Jake Gyllenhaul?

It's one of those psychological thriller/puzzle movies where reality isn't quite what it seems, but there are tons of clues in the visuals and dialogue to help sort out an interpretation. I didn't know that going into it, so since this genre happens to be one of my faves, I was pleasantly surprised.

[Gendo]

Enemy - Huh. Funny story, I only bought and watched this because I remembered Robin telling me how good it was. Turns out I misremembered; he hasn't even seen it; he just asked me if I had because he'd heard it was good. Anyway, I didn't think I liked it at first, but after reading an analysis of it; I think I may have just not understood the movie; and if the analysis is correct, then it's actually brilliant. Need to rewatch.

I haven't gotten to that re-watch yet. Definitely my favorite genre as well. I hope you've seen The Machinist? My favorite in that genre, I think.

[Faustus5]

Enemy - Huh. Funny story, I only bought and watched this because I remembered Robin telling me how good it was. Turns out I misremembered; he hasn't even seen it; he just asked me if I had because he'd heard it was good. Anyway, I didn't think I liked it at first, but after reading an analysis of it; I think I may have just not understood the movie; and if the analysis is correct, then it's actually brilliant. Need to rewatch.

I haven't gotten to that re-watch yet. Definitely my favorite genre as well. I hope you've seen The Machinist? My favorite in that genre, I think.

Not yet, it's on my list though. Didn't know it was in this genre, which makes me even more interested now! Thanks for the tip.

[Islandmur]

The machinist is genius

[Anakin McFly]

Yep, seen it! I also had to read the interpretations to get what was going on.

[maz89]

I think Villeneuve is great at rendering atmosphere and tone. I've liked all of his films that I've seen - Prisoners, Sicario, Arrival, Enemy - to varying degrees. Looking forward to what he does in the Blade Runner sequel (let's call it cautious optimism).

Have you guys seen Coherence? It's an indie/low budget sci-fi/mystery film that is intriguing during the entirety of its run time. Recommended.

[Faustus5]

Have you guys seen Coherence? It's an indie/low budget sci-fi/mystery film that is intriguing during the entirety of its run time. Recommended.

Yep, saw it a few weeks ago. Shows how much can be accomplished with good writing and almost no budget.

[Gendo]

I think Villeneuve is great at rendering atmosphere and tone. I've liked all of his films that I've seen - Prisoners, Sicario, Arrival, Enemy - to varying degrees. Looking forward to what he does in the Blade Runner sequel (let's call it cautious optimism).

Woah, I hadn't realized that Enemy was the same director as Prisoners. That makes so much sense! As I mentioned in my movie thread, Prisoners is the best movie that I've seen this year.

[Derived Absurdity]

Admittedly it's been a while since I've seen Prisoners, but my impression when I watched it was that it was pro-torture propaganda. Meaning that the movie presented torture as sometimes understandable and justifiable given the circumstances. For that reason I didn't like it.

[Gendo]

Admittedly it's been a while since I've seen Prisoners, but my impression when I watched it was that it was pro-torture propaganda. Meaning that the movie presented torture as sometimes understandable and justifiable given the circumstances. For that reason I didn't like it.

I got the exact opposite impression... I don't think Jackman's actions was seen as at all sympathetic , even if his character was. Especially given that he was torturing a (basically) innocent man. But even with the uncertainty about if he was innocent, Jackman came off as pretty terrible.

[Derived Absurdity]

I hope so. I liked everything other than that part.

[maz89]

Yeah, I'm with Gendo in that the film neither justified nor condoned Jackman's sadistic torture. It was more keen on showing how despair can turn into madness. How an otherwise normal family man was driven to commit evil, heinous acts when the meaning/purpose of his existence was uprooted. Without endorsing or supporting his atrocious crimes.

Also, we all know that Paul Dano doesn't sign up for roles that don't require him to be killed or tortured. So they had to put that in.