Pity Jake Gyllanhaal. He took a hell of chance doing Brokeback, a movie that succeeded beyond anybody's wildest expectations to become a landmark of American cinema on a par with, say, The Graduate. And ever since Brokeback, Jake has doubled down his efforts to establish that (a) he's not an adorable sheep herder with a hankering for rodeo riders and (b) he actually is quite a Serious Actor who thinks Deep Thoughts about Important Topics.
That knowing grin when Ennis Delmar crawls into his sleeping bag could play at least as well in a hetero RomCom. Too bad Jake can't lighten-up and relax into a sort of thinking person's Bradley Cooper. Plus Jake's sister Maggie manages a nice mix of the arty and the fluffy (i.e., well-paid) roles. But sadly, no . . . apparently Jake still feels the need to prove something.
I am grateful, nonetheless, for this Prime freebie featurette/extended promo for Enemy, because I learned that I definitely do not need to watch a movie so heavily loaded with the symbolism of a divided self: apparently Jake freaks when discovers his secret, hidden nature in an exact doppelganger, and guess what? Der doppel is not a nice dude, and furthermore, somebody has to die. Yeah, really.
That will be a pass here, thank you.