Double Take

Double Take is an inventive and thought-provoking film from 2009, masterfully directed by Johan Grimonprez, and starring Ron Burrage, Mark Perry, and Delfine Bafort. This film stands out because of it's unusual, but finely executed blending of different kinds of narrative modes, using elements of documentary, drama, and surrealism to create a multi-layered picture of the Cold War era.

In a film that is marked by its surprising use of meta-narration, the protagonist is Alfred Hitchcock, played by Ron Burrage. However, this isn't a biopic about Alfred Hitchcock as it may sound initially. Instead, it is more like an unfolding nightmare or a surrealist event that Hitchcock finds himself inside. Viewers will find themselves suspending their disbelief as they explore a fictionalized version of events during the Cold War from Hitchcock's perspective.

The film creates a confluence of two time periods, the sixties and the present, an era marked and forever changed by the advent of commercial media. The plot revolves around Hitchcock, who meets his double, a certain 'Hitchcock-like persona' played by Mark Perry.

The plot takes an eerie turn as Hitchcock is informed that he would die before the release of his most successful film yet, adding to the suspenseful and somewhat disconcerting tone of the film. This narrative device serves to bring about the theme of time while creating a sense of foreboding.

The narrative is as much about Hitchcock as it is about the Cold War period itself. The film comments on complex themes of doppelgangers, doubles, and mirrors, all framed within the context of the Cold War paranoia and Space Race, giving viewers a closer look at the anxiety and fear underlying this time period.

Double Take plays with these anxieties and embeds them into the film narrative. Its use of newsreel footage, together with painstaking efforts to recreate the style and feel of Hitchcock's cinematic language, results in a mise en scène replete with an eerie mood and thick suspenseful atmospheres.

Delfine Bafort, completes the primary cast of the film, adding a layer of charm and elegance with her character, even as the threads of tension start to become more palpaciously pulled taut. The other supporting cast members also do an versatile job of bringing this unusual and thought-provoking narrative to life.

One of the film’s most intriguing artistic choices is its unconventional storytelling format. It delves into an interesting blend of fiction and documentary, using archival footage interspersed with acted sequences. This provides a unique backdrop for exploring universal themes about identity, politics, and changing realities in light of societal uncertainties, while maintaining an unfaltering homage to Hitchcock’s aesthetic.

This cinematic experiment also shines a light on the influence of television as a medium and its impact during the Cold War era. It's a distinctive move that not only speaks volumes about the story it’s trying to tell, but also about the film as a medium itself, and what it can achieve in terms of nonlinear storytelling and historical reflection.

On a technical level, Double Take showcases dazzling and precise cinematography, and the sound design lends a tense and paranoid atmosphere to the film that is a critical element of the entire viewing experience. These elements, combined with Grimonprez's fine direction and the compelling performances, allow Double Take to shine as an audacious cinematic endeavor.

Double Take is an ambitious and highly experimental work that makes the audience question what a film can be. Its exploration of duality, both personal and political, is given depth and relevance by the clever use of real and imagined history. This stimulating fusion of fiction and documentary serves up a speculative treat of paranoia and intrigue, indicative of the societal tensions in the Cold War period.

Although the blend of documentary and narrative fiction might not be everyone's cup of tea, it's this very quirk that elevates Double Take from an ordinary cinematic attempt to an astounding work of art, making it a must-watch for anyone interested in unconventional storytelling or the exploration of cinematic boundaries.

A critical viewing of this film reveals it as a metaphorical reflection on time, history, and reality. It's an intriguing celluloid puzzle box, full of surprises and valuable reflections, that is sure to leave the audience pondering long after the credits roll.