This is another film which deserves the label ‘strange’ which I am advocating for a range of films, rather than the ‘comedy’ label it has attracted.
It’s about the nightmare experiences of Simon James (Jesse Eisenberg), who works in a dingy office alongside people who are generally indifferent or aggressive towards him. He can’t understand why he is the only one who needs a pass to get in, and that is never enough anyway. When he disappears from the security system, he’s told he ceases to exist.
The worst thing of all is the appearance at work of his exact double, called James Simon, who hounds him and for whom everything goes right. No-one else seems to notice that they look the same.
Simon likes Hannah (Mia Wasikowska) but neither she nor Melanie (Yasmin Paige) give him much encouragement. James naturally has much more success.
Can Simon get to grips with all this and turn his life round? Or will he go under?
Don’t go expecting any explanation of all the things which happen, there’s no chance of that. Maybe it’s all a dream, it has that kind of feel throughout.
It’s quite entertaining though I always think it is all too easy to write a film like this – there are no rules, nothing has to make any sense. Had it been any longer than 90 minutes I think it would have become annoying.
