Enemy

Double your pleasure and double your fun without chewing a specific brand of gum in Enemy, as long as pleasure and fun can be found in a dark character study that raises more questions than it provides answers.

Normally that’s frustrating, but this frequently riveting doppelganger thriller — in which actor Jake Gyllenhaal re-teams with Canadian director Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners) — manages to be more provocative than pretentious.

Gyllenhaal’s first of two roles is Adam, a neurotic Toronto history professor who rents an obscure movie based on the innocuous recommendation of a colleague, then spots an extra who both looks and talks exactly like him.

Through the wonders of a Google search, he manages to locate the agency of the bit player, Anthony, before embarking on a quest to find him and learn the truth. He eventually tracks down his home address and phone number, and causes further confusion as both men scramble for a rational explanation. Are they twins? Is this a fantasy? Why does it even matter?

The two have contrasting personalities – Adam is timid and socially awkward, while Anthony is outgoing and quick-tempered. Still, their physical resemblance is enough to fool anyone outside Adam’s girlfriend (Melanie Laurent) and Anthony’s pregnant wife (Sarah Gadon), whose suspicion grows as the mystery deepens about any past connections between them.

This adaptation of a novel by Portuguese writer Jose Saramago (Blindness) is deliberately paced but it rewards patience with a slow-burning screenplay that gradually builds tension. While thematically channeling the existential films of David Lynch or David Cronenberg, the film is offbeat and meticulous in the way it reveals secrets, both among the characters and to the audience.

Even as it strains credibility once Adam begins gathering clues and playing private eye, with his curiosity getting the best of his instincts, the film remains taut thanks to some clever twists. It also seamlessly shifts perspectives among both characters without feeling forced or manipulative.

Gyllenhaal is in top form here, giving his dual characters sufficient distinctions amid the similarities. Filmed prior to Villeneuve’s bigger-budget Hollywood thriller, Enemy is a compelling and head-scratching exploration of obsession and paranoia that leaves plenty of angles for post-film chatter.

Rated R, 90 minutes.