Dual

This movie opens with a duel.

This is the perfect antidote to sci-fi films & tv shows like Black Mirror, which bombard us with their bleak visions of the future. Writer/director Riley Stearns is gifted at poker face satire--especially when mocking the drama that comes with these types of stories. He's also blessed with Karen Gillan, who is hilarious with this type of tone. At times I was disappointed with the illogical rules and laws of the worldbuilding. Still, recommended, even if it is slow in revealing how smart it is.

Dual is a frustrating film in many regards, but for me it's primarily how the final act plays out. The way in which every character speaks in a matter-of-fact manner is off-putting; as is Stearns' embrace of characters inconsistently reading each other's intentions in an autistic-esque fashion. The film explores the idea of whether we're defined by our choices & relationships or whether there's something more intrinsic to our self, but ultimately feels like a sketch stretched out too long.

(CLONE SURVIVOR)

There's something in this that could've worked much better but I don't really know what it is. The weird almost emotionless world where the movie seems to take place is interesting but unexplored.

For weirdos especially. A hilarious feel-bad comedy and deadpan satire of overwrought or pretentious sci-fi thrillers. Amazing performance from Karen Gillan too.

Stearns follows up The Art Of Self Defense with a very similar film. I'm always down for watching Karen Gillan moping around a small Finnish town, and I love the basic plot, but there's a LOT of moping in this film, and the constant matter-of-factness does the movie no favours in the long run.

It was quite interesting and enjoyable; it felt like a more audience-friendly version of Lanthimos's works (esp. The Lobster) in terms of its deadpan dark humor. However, unlike his previous work Faults, which I believe has executed its interesting premise very well, I'm certain that there must have been a better way this premise could be employed and executed, esp. the ending.

the allegory at play is brilliant. love Riley Stearns continuing to lean into bleakness. like a blunter, leaner-Lanthimos. MORE weird roles for Aaron Paul!!!

Thought I'd enjoy/respect this more than I did. Divisive, but will have an enthusiastic following. I just couldn't get into the overreaching autism. 3.9

Fun premise and Gillan is really good here. It's basically an homage to Lanthimos, and that isn't a bad thing (because I like Yorgos) but it's also not necessarily a good thing because it does feel derivative, particularly of The Lobster.

While "Dual" has its flaws in character development and world-building, it succeeds in delivering dry humor and strong performances from its leads. The third act takes the story in a new and thought-provoking direction. Overall, "Dual" is an enjoyable watch that may not be for everyone, but is worth checking out for fans of dark comedy.

What an awkward film. It had sort of a poor man's Lanthimos vibe, that's when I realized this was made by the same dude who did The Art of Self Defense. Weird, I had no idea. I ended up enjoying it, and got a few big laughs out of it. It's wasn't great, but it scratched an itch.

Ugh. I wanted to like this movie, I really did. The concept is great, and the idea of Karen Gillan acting against herself and ultimately facing herself in combat was something that really interested me. I know she's a great actress, and she's actually done scenes with herself in the past and pulled them off really well. But this... this isn't it. The acting style this director chooses is just not good, and also the many extras with obvious finnish accents when it's meant to be in america is odd.

Somefunny/coolstuff+shewasalreadyactinglikearobotsometimeslol+ifeellikemoreofhergettingtoknowherwouldamadeitbetter+wouldntkilldogbutkilledrandomonecuzsawherlol+bothwererunningaway-seemslikedoublekilledherandactinglikeOG-maybeit'sOGactinglikedoublejusttoexlol-butshedunnohowtodriveithinksodouble?:P

Another severely autistic dark psychological dramedy by Riley Stearns. Thought it was fantastic, though not quite as good as The Art of Self-Defense.

Not my kind of film.

Directed well, Gillan is always pleasant to watch. Paul probably had the best character. The delivery of pretty much all the characters tries to keep the viewer at a distance, to some degree, but I don't feel like it really worked here. An odd stylistic choice. I enjoy the satire and the premise though.