Adapted from Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novel, Richard Ayoade’s second feature is an atmospheric black comedy featuring an excellent dual performance by Jesse Eisenberg. Jason Ward talks to the director…
The Double is based on a 167-year-old novella. Did that give you a freer hand in adapting it than, say, Submarine, which was a recent novel by a living author?
I think so. It took a lot longer to feel comfortable to diverge from Joe Dunthorne’s book, in that it took me a number of drafts before I could get to a point of saying “Oh, I might try this thing”. At first, it felt like my main job was to not offend Joe. With The Double, Avi (Korine) wrote the first couple of drafts and then I did a draft. We then wrote together in the same room, which was really enjoyable, and after that I wrote the remaining drafts. But I was always showing Avi things and speaking to him throughout. I really loved writing with him.
In addition to being a serious-minded adaptation of Dostoyevsky, you can also clearly see the influence of Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace and your earlier comedy work. Did you know how large a role humour would play from the outset?
I always thought that the idea detailed in the book was funny and Avi’s initial draft kept that strain of humour. The idea of someone having an exact replica of themselves and no one being bothered by it or noticing it is a funny concept. It feels Python-esque or something Larry David would create, in the way it plays with the idea of insignificance, where people look at both of you and think, “Yeah, I guess. But so what?” It reminded me of Luis Buñuel’s The Phantom of Liberty, where the mother of a pupil announces that her daughter is missing. The teacher responds, “This is terrible”. The daughter then walks up to them saying, “I’m here,” but they keep talking: “When was the last time you saw her?” “I don’t know”. The daughter repeatedly announces her presence but they just don’t notice her. That kind of situation is very funny.
It’s a film where the two main characters are played by the same actor. Did that impact how you approached filming?
The idea was to not have the technology affect the way I wanted to film it: to decide the way that I would shoot it if there were two different actors and do it that way. It means you have to work out the technology afterwards, which can be difficult.
You don’t distinguish visually between the two characters. How did you work with Jesse Eisenberg to differentiate between Simon and James?
He didn’t need much help in that regard. In rehearsals, it was immediately apparent that he was just very different as each character without audiences needing to have any visual signifiers. It was clear during editing, even pausing on a still frame, which one is Simon and which one is James. I suppose the sign of a good actor is that they have thoughts and their faces display them, so you know what the character is thinking. Some people have this weird ability to do that. Jesse’s particularly good at it.
What made you want to cast him? In a way, both parts reflect on his on-screen persona – they’re almost like the two sides of him.
There was no meta-textual impetus for casting him. I really liked him in The Squid and the Whale – that was the first time I saw him and I thought he was brilliant in it. There just aren’t many people who could play both parts convincingly. The only people we could bring to mind, that we thought would be good for something like this, were Jack Lemmon or Dustin Hoffman. I think Jesse definitely has the qualities of those actors. He’s pretty rare. There are lots of people you can imagine would be suited for one role but not as good in the other.
You’ve been a performer for many years. Does that affect the way you direct?
You’re aware of it. I wouldn’t count myself as someone who’s got any lessons to impart for performing, but I’m aware of how difficult the conditions are for actors. Ostensibly, it might seem like a very cosseted profession and possibly, at the very highest level, there’s an element of that. But the main thing is that acting is very difficult to do in front of a number of people who are watching. It’s a very weird thing to try and get yourself in a position where your thoughts become transparent, because most people devote their lives to developing a persona whereby their thoughts are not transparent. That’s the aim of life – to not have people see right through you – and suddenly you’ve got to invert that. I’m aware of how difficult it is to do that well. You want to enable the conditions, to foster the ability, to do that well. So maybe on that level it’s helpful.
With thanks to Curzon Cinemas
The Double screens at Cornerhouse from Fri 4 April. Watch the trailer and book your tickets here.