Double follows the life of Double (Daniele Daniele). The young night clerk for a hotel is rehearsing a play, a comedy. Double spends his downtime in a most unusual fashion. See, he has the power to turn invisible, and while unseen, Double follows people and observes them when they think no one else is around.
One day, Double decides to visit play rehearsals while invisible. He sees his fellow actors do a scene his character is in. To his shock and horror, he discovers that the scene works full well without his role present. This makes Double question whether he is truly needed, not just in the play but in life. Will he remain invisible forever, or can Double see the worth of his life?
“Will he remain invisible forever, or can Double see the worth of his life?”
Written and directed by Valerio Valente, Double eschews the grand scale one typically associates with any sort of superpowered story. Truth be told, the low-key drama does not even recognize the lead’s invisibility as a superpower. It is just something he can do, a trait that costs him real friends and prevents him from discovering his true self. This metaphorical use of invisibility and how singularly focused the script is on what Double needs gives the narrative heart and weight. Near the end, the idea of what an actor does and how is extrapolated to shockingly profound effect.
Daniele Daniele is excellent as Double. He makes the existential crisis the character is going through intriguing and heartbreaking. While there are other characters, the film is more or less a one-man show, and Daniele shines.
Double is well-edited, subdued, and entirely affecting. Most people have felt unneeded or unwanted in life at one point or another, and Valente dives into that loneliness with intelligence and grace. Daniele ably brings the somber material to life in an aching but playful way.
For more information about Double, go to its site.
"…shockingly profound..."
