Tag: 3

The Double (2013)

Where to find it: Rent on BFI Player or wait until it’s on Film4
Length: 90 minutes
Synopsis: A meek office worker finds his life usurped by an assertive doppelgänger
Recommendation rating: 3/5

What I like about it: the retrofuture aesthetic, arresting visuals, music
What I don’t like about it: slow and quiet, demanding lots of attention

Review:
Jesse Eisenberg ably plays the double role of nerdy doormat and arrogant charmer but the real star here is Richard Ayoade, setting up visuals and sequences that Kubrick would be proud of. The music, a mix of staccato stings and Asian crooning, is another highlight. Worth watching if you don’t care much for plot.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): stalking behaviour, suicide, violence, cutting, depersonalisation

The Outlaws (2021) Season 1

Where to find it: BBC iPlayer
Length: Six 1-hour episodes
Synopsis: A diverse group meet in Bristol for court-appointed community service and become entangled in local organised crime
Recommendation rating: 3/5

What I like about it: funny and snappy dialogue, characters and plot which eventually become engaging, fun pacing
What I don’t like about it: the characters begin as crude satirical stereotypes and the premise and plot feel cheesy through the first half of the series, it’s more than a bit contrived

Review:
It took me several tries to care about Stephen Merchant’s new series because it has such a weak opening; a fun premise is marred by characters made of straw and used as target practice for the show’s admittedly very strong jokes. Had I binge-watched the show, this may have been less noticeable because by the latter half of the season they were more fleshed out and easier to care about and by the end I felt the contradictions within and between each member of the group had been fully explored and partially resolved, the perfect end point of the story circle. It’s nice to see a TV show get an honest first season that doesn’t just feel like a pilot for a hopeful franchise and it makes me all the more excited to see a second.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): drugs and alcohol, racism and prejudice, police and crime, mental health (particularly histrionic “personality disorder”), some peril but little violence