I personally like this one very much, and the following is purely subjective.
A picture and light and shadow
The picture and light and shadow are really good, one of the best I've seen recently.
One of my favorite things is that most of the film is split in two. The general movie picture has symmetry, but more often it is biased towards the golden ratio, mixing, and overlapping. In this particularly numerous shot, it is always half light and half dark. No matter where the focus is in the upper, lower, left, and right of the picture, the light exposed in the picture is always 50%, which is a very strong innuendo to the subject.
The second director and the original
Because I just read the original book and watched the movie the next day, the direct experience is that I feel that the director has a very, very unique and mature view of the original book. It seems to give some interpretations to readers who have read the original book and have some questions in their minds. Every detail of the film is carefully crafted and filmed with great care. The implied meaning is handled very delicately, and it is clear and not explicit. I was moved. .
1) At the beginning, in the empty carriage, someone said to the protagonist "You're at my seat". The protagonist is very puzzled. There are so many empty seats, why do you say "I" took the seat of "you"? - The theme is hinted at from the beginning.
2) In the TV show that the protagonist likes, one person holds two swords against two other people. ——Reflects the inner entanglement of the protagonist.
3) The protagonist goes to the office but no one remembers him and asks him "Show me your ID", as if nothing in this world can prove his existence except for his ID. So sad.
4) When the protagonist first met another self, he followed him to do some things that he usually did not have the courage to do, and obtained rare relief and relief.
Back in the room, sitting on the edge of the bed, he stroked his chin lightly with his index finger, what a tender picture.
However, after a few things, the same scene, the index finger turned into a blade.
5) The person who lived opposite the protagonist saw that he committed suicide by jumping off the building, and then the heroine described the freak's behavior, which was exactly the same as the protagonist herself. When the protagonist was chatting with the police, he heard that he would not fall to his death if he staggered a little... Later, the other one lived in the opposite side, and then the protagonist himself jumped off. But he survived because he remembered what the police said. - Very clever setup.
6) The heroine describes the protagonist that you are like a snake. ——"Snake" is exactly the feeling of the protagonist in the original book. When reading the original book, I find it indescribable. The inferiority and darkness of the protagonist is like a snake.
There are also too many small clips and scenes, some weird, but very vivid, artistic, and surreal (such as the chimpanzee in the restaurant).
Comparing the film to the original, I think the original is darker and meaner. The protagonists in Dostoevsky's writings are more timid and neurotic. St. Petersburg in November, depicted many times in the original book, is also more gloomy and depressing. The movie is already lighthearted.
The director/screenwriter has added a lot of witty points, and the adapted protagonist and his incarnate personality are relatively more normal, more positive, and more tender. Especially the warmth element, which I didn't read in the original book (at least).
In the movie, when two identical people are sitting on both sides of the carriage, the protagonist looks at the person on the opposite side, and suddenly shows a rare smile of relief. I feel very tender about that scene-the protagonist has a life after meeting another self. For the first time, I lived a night as if I broke free from the shackles, and then I felt relieved from the bottom of my heart. It's so touching.
I think the director also made a continuation of the original story in the movie, so that the protagonist has more courage to fight. In the adapted story, the simple love for the heroine, the car that flashed many times, the room and phone facing each other, and other settings, all have a little more romance.
These romances and courage eventually lead to the protagonist becoming the only one: Unique.
three performances
I think Jesse's performance is very delicate. Sometimes, from the same symmetrical angle, he plays two completely different people. At first glance, the expressions are the same, but the subtleties can make people distinguish the two people at once.
Plus his face is so fitting for this movie. The sunken part of the eye will just become a shadow under some angle of light, leaving only the brow bone. And the thinness of the side face also makes the light and shadow of the picture look better.
Four soundtracks
The soundtrack of the movie is also very good. There are several Japanese songs used in the interlude. It has a sense of Showa and dust, but it does not violate the harmony. The suspense and weirdness created by other sound effects are also in place. The second half uses several sonatas (I don't know if it should be called that), and it is just right. In the slightly scary picture, it is full of artistic sense, making people know that this is not real, but more of an artistic communication.
This movie is available for free on YouTube.
The director's interview mentioned the original work of "Double Personality", which he thinks is more humorous and interesting than dark.
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