The Double Cert: 15 / 93 mins / Dir. Richard Ayoade
There's a disconcerting feeling early in Richard Ayoade's Dostoevsky adaptation that you've seen half of this film before, and that so far, the other half has been all but pencilled in. That feeling isn't eased as time passes. The non-location-specific, non-time-specific setting of the story, with a mix of British, American, and indeterminate European accents, looks and feels like Blade Runner reimagined by Terry Gilliam and set in Hackney. The Double is initially intriguing until we find out that the blanks of the surrounding world won't be filled in, largely because they're unimportant to the narrative, and the blanks of the narrative won't be filled in, largely because the themes are more important. And then the themes are handled with a shrug as the film seems to look over its glasses at you and ask if you understand what's going on and shouldn't you be in the screen down the corridor watching Liam Neeson punching people on a plane?
Reverse film-snobbery, I know, but I engaged with The Double less and less as it went on. The fragile sense of surreality falls further apart as Eisenberg's Simon James becomes embroiled with his titular-double and all-round nemesis, James Simon, but no great sense of meaning (or god-forbid, explanation) takes its place. The deeper and more metaphorical the revelations between the two become, the more apparent it is that the film is flawed on a physical-story level, and would be better suited to animation, where the viewer can let go of reality more easily. By the end of the film, we're not being asked to imagine that these events are happening to a real person, but we're not really offered any alternative, either.
From a more technical viewpoint, I don't believe that Eisenberg was the best choice for the dual-role of Simon/James. The neurotic introvert is a part I've seen him play before, so I now associate that with earlier roles of his, and the forceful bully side of his personality never comes across as convincingly as it needs to. I think he performs them well, but he's just not right for them. Mia Wasikowska also plays admirably as Hanna, the love-interest/foil in the tower-block opposite Simon's, even if her American accent is all over the place (shades of Sam Worthington. No, really).
Self-indulgent to the point of conceitedness, it's not that The Double isn't as clever as it thinks it is, it's just not as meaningful. Meticulously constructed and presented, I didn't believe in any of the characters, so couldn't engage with anything that happened to them. Really interesting, but the trailer looked like it was offering so much more. If ever there was a film where a suitable pull-quote for the poster would be "Really not for me ~ WorldOfBlackout", this would be the one.
It's a sad day when the short cameos by Chris Morris and Tim Key are the things keeping me entertained in a film.
Yes and no.
Only in the first act.
I honestly don't know.
I honestly don't know.
Nah. I won't understand you, though.
Doubtful.
I don't think there is, no.
Oh, it's okay, I know you think differently, and I want you to explain why.
Either here or on the Facebook page.
Go.
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
It seems to have become a yearly occurrence that in the UK we get a TV-to-Cinema comedy crossover movie. Sometimes they amuse, sometimes they don't; but either way, there's always been a bumpy transition between the small screens in our homes and the large ones of the cinema. 2013 heralds the turn of Norwich ambassador, Alan Partridge - can the polyester slacks and driving gloves successfully make the leap to the silver screen? More to the point, is it worth paying nearly a tenner to find out..?
Best line:"Michael, you're like a sort of Geordie Anne Frank..."
...kinda, yes. Where my biggest bugbear with this sort of thing has been "it's not a film", I can see why Alpha Papa was put into the format. The story has a wider scope than the Partridge BBC shows, and while I think it loses direction slightly in the third act, the first two benefit hugely from having the time to unfold under their own steam. The story makes great use of the existing Partridge canon*1, even if it does little to develop on it, and the return of Lynn and Michael gives Alan a couple of tried and tested foils to play off.
Best line:"Right... Ah've got nee tax, nee insurance, and ah'm not wearin' me seatbelt. What are y'ganna dee aboot it this time?"
Another great plus-point is that Alpha Papa is funny. Consistently funny. The style of humour is exactly what AP fans are accustomed to, and although it makes no concessions for newbies, it's broad enough to be enjoyed by most audiences. It almost goes without saying of course (although I'll say it anyway), that if you really don't like Partridge, this isn't for you.
Best line:"Aye, I've done a poo in the box..."
As much as I loved Alpha Papa, I have to say that it didn't really leave me with much apart from 'the memory of laughing a lot'. As the credits roll, there's the nagging feeling that nothing's really changed on any higher level, and that while the extended running time is welcome, the things which make this great are the same things that stop it being 'cinema material'. In about a year, either BBC3 or ITV2 will buy the broadcast rights to this and start playing it on rotation. In all honesty, you'll lose nothing by watching this as home. For the next three weeks at least, it's what Orange Wednesdays were invented for*2.
TL;DR version? 'Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa' is very funny, even if it does nothing new. Because of this, if you're not already a fan of Norwich's premier D-Jock, there's little for you here. On its own terms it succeeds marvellously, and those are the only terms it's playing on.
The trailer sells it short slightly, but captures the essence.
Yes.
Yes.
Your choice; any will be fun, but it's a question of how desperately you want to see it.
No.
Yes, but probably not 'til it hits DVD.
Not that I heard.
Partridge fans: Do you rate Sky-era AP over BBC-era AP?
*1Uber-nerd moment: I did notice a few minor inconsistencies with the BBC series and the autobiography. 1) When Lynn visits Alan at home, he's living on a housing estate - why isn't this the house he was having custom built in series 2 of I'm Alan Partridge? 2) Detailed in the book, Goredale Media are the company who buy Radio North Norfolk and drop the expense of having its FM licence (hence North Norfolk Digital); in Alpha Papa, why would they be brought in to take over their own company? I know perhaps I shouldn't be expecting GFFA levels of continuity, but everything else in Brand Partridge dovetails beautifully.
*2 The cynic in me is assuming that's why Alpha Papa opened on a Wednesday (as did The Inbetweeners). It worked, the cinema was packed; but whether those figures are sustainable remains to be seen.
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
