The Double

Richard Gere is certainly one of the good old time movie stars that we still have around. His career has had ups and downs, and I don’t know how he will be judged in cinema’s history. But he has a charisma that is difficult to ignore, and you wish he could reach greater heights. This is what I felt when I watched “The Double,” an electrifying and intriguing film that will keep you glued to your seat until the very end.

The film opens with the assassination of US Senator Dennis Darden (Ed Kelly), who we briefly see earlier on TV arguing with another senator about Russia’s resurgence. We then meet Paul Shepherdson (Richard Gere), a retired CIA agent who is an expert on an extremely dangerous Russian spy by the codename of Cassius, who is suspected to be the senator’s assassin. Shepherdson is informed by Tom Highland (Martin Sheen) that he will be partnered with Ben Geary (Topher Grace), who happens to be an FBI expert on Cassius, too. Shepherdson objects this decision, because Geary’s experience on Cassius is only on paper, and he doesn’t have the instinct to read or understand the soviet assassin. After a while, as you probably guessed, they get to work together. But that is when the story takes a quick turn, and we very early get to know who the real Cassius is, which entirely changes the dynamic of the film, making us guess until the film’s final frame.

I have always enjoyed great, non-formulaic, intelligent spy movies, and “The Double” is one of them. It truly gives you food for thought in regards to the people around us. The DVD has an audio commentary by writer-director Michael Brandt and writer-producer Derek Haas, and more. (USA, 2011, color, 98 min plus additional material). Reviewed on January 30, 2012. Image Entertainment Blu-ray

To purchase DVD, click here or on image above.