Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Enemy Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 7, 2015

Denis Villeneuve's "Enemy" (2013) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; a large collection of interviews with the Canadian director and actors Sarah Gadon, Isabella Rossellini, Mélanie Laurent, and Jake Gyllenhaal; and making of featurette. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

"Who is this?"

There is a man (Jake Gyllenhaal, Donnie Darko) who lives in a world that looks familiar -- glittering high-rises are piercing the sky, there are traffic jams and the streets are packed with thousands of jaded commuters. Initially, it is unclear if the man likes where he is, but it is obvious that he has found himself a comfortable niche.

But the man is forced out of it when a colleague recommends a low-budget film to him and he discovers that one of the actors in it looks exactly like him. Later on, the man panics when he also realizes that the actor sounds exactly like him. Unsure what to think, the man approaches the actor and they arrange to meet in a cheap hotel.

What happens next in Denis Villeneuve's film isn’t entirely clear. There are a couple of obvious scenarios that make sense, but after viewing the film twice I’ve come to the conclusion that all of them have their fair share of flaws. More importantly, I’ve decided that the film does not need to be deconstructed with conventional logic. The bigger picture is what matters and how we see it -- whether by choosing any of the flawed scenarios or rejecting them in favor of a more unconventional one -- is absolutely irrelevant.

So what is this bigger picture and what exactly does Villeneuve want us to see?

The film is set in Toronto, but most of the visuals could be from any big North American city. Life has a steady rhythm here and everyone seems used to it. There is a routine that people are expected to follow, and when they do, they quickly become part of the system that defines their reality. But whose system is it? And what happens if one begins to see parts of it that should not be seen?

The reality in which the man exists begins to disintegrate after he decides to find out more about his double. However, there is a part of him that is fully aware of the consequences of his actions and there is another part that remains locked inside the system’s reality and becomes utterly confused. This is where the film also becomes quite confusing as it leaves it to us to decide if the rebellious act that has triggered the disintegration is real or simply a product of the man’s imagination.

Villeneuve could have provided a very clear answer at the end, but it would have demoted his film to yet another genre piece in which conventional logic wins. The film works as well as it does precisely because it rejects genre cliches and effectively forces one to ponder the order of things that make us feel normal and safe. Think about it: What if our minds are really programmed to see and understand only a fraction of our reality?

Gyllenhaal is terrific. The progression of his confusion is revealed through a wide range of fantastic facial expressions proving yet again that he is an incredibly versatile actor. Mélanie Laurent and Sarah Gadon are equally impressive. There is also a wonderful cameo by Isabella Rossellini.

The film has a highly stylized look -- a wide range of soft but lush yellows are used to enhance the tense atmosphere -- which favors toned down contrast and sharpness levels. It was lensed by cinematographer Nicolas Bolduc, who had previously collaborated with Villeneuve on his short Next Floor.

The rich ambient soundtrack was created by the in-demand composers Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans (Martha Marcy May Marlene, The One I Love).

Enemy Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Denis Villeneuve's Enemy arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Curzon Film World/Artificial Eye.

There is a very short sequence in the first half of the film where I spotted some extremely light aliasing sneaking in, but the rest of the technical presentation is outstanding. The film has a highly stylized look -- a wide range of soft but lush yellows are used to enhance the tense atmosphere -- which favors toned down contrast and sharpness levels. Clarity and depth are outstanding, though depending on how much natural light is captured by the Arri Alexa camera some fluctuations are present (compare screencaptures #1 and 19). Image stability is outstanding. All in all, this is a very strong technical presentation of Enemy which will most definitely please its fans as well as viewers that are planning to experience the film for the first time on Blu-ray. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Enemy Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Curzon Film World/Artificial Eye have not provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

The film is complimented by a sensational ambient soundtrack that gives it its identity. Fortunately, the 5.1 track handles it exceptionally well. In fact, even though there are only a couple of sequences where the dynamic intensity impresses -- for example, see the highway crash -- the excellent fidelity, terrific separation, and nuanced dynamics make this 5.1 track one of the very best that I have heard in quite some time. Indeed, very impressive mixing. For the record, there are no audio dropouts, pops, or digital distortions to report in this review.

Enemy Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interviews - presented here is a collection of interviews in which director Denis Villeneuve, and actors Sarah Gadon, Isabella Rossellini, Mélanie Laurent, and Jake Gyllenhaal discuss the unusual narrative of Enemy, the relationships between the main characters and meaning of their actions, the film's visual style and atmosphere, etc. In English, not subtitled. (45 min).

• Making of - standard featurette with raw footage from the shooting of the film as well as comments from cast and crew members. In English, not subtitled. (50 min).

• Trailer - original trailer for Enemy. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

Enemy Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Denis Villeneuve's unconventional adaptation of José Saramago's novel is one of the most challenging films to appear on Blu-ray in quite some time. It works on multiple levels and, more importantly, forces the mind to reexamine it in a number of different ways. I think that fans of David Lynch and David Conenberg's work will be particularly impressed with it. Curzon Film World/Artificial Eye's technical presentation of the film is very good. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.