Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Cast: Karen Gillan, Aaron Paul, Beulah Koale, Theo James, Elina Jackson, Maija Paunio, Rea Lest, June Hyde, Kristofer Gummerus, Nico Siekkinen, Jani Siekkinen, Elsa Saisio, Remu Valisaari, Minea Valisaari, Amira Khalifa, Andrei Alén, Aram Tertzakian, Darren McStay, Rasmus Blomquist, Sophia Heikkilä, Robert Enckell, Lelsie Hyde, Katariina Hayukainen.
The fact that immortality appeals greatly to us as a species is meant to convey a reason to understand why for the vast majority, the overwhelming percentage of humankind, that we are but transitory creatures caught in a particular moment of time and that the mark we leave upon the world is of little consequence. That we scream silently into the void as Time marches by without barely a second glance is the reason why we might fantasise about living forever in one form or another; for if we cannot add to the world, then at least we should have the time to see it all.
If we told that we were dying, and told almost in the same breath that there was a chance to live on, would we grasp it without a second’s hesitation, would we say have ourselves cloned and all the memories, the highs, the joys, the hang ups follow us on without us whilst all the time knowing there was someone out there doing what we couldn’t but wearing our face? Interacting with the ones we love? It is not so cut and dried when we put it into action.
Cloning is still too many a step of science taken too far for most people, it is not an extension of life, but arguably a stealing of a soul, and yet the idea, as noted in the dark comedy Dual, is one that appeals.
Karen Gillan, proving herself to be one of the exciting and versatile actors of her generation, teams up Aaron Paul and writer and Director Riley Stearns in a film that stretches the concept of living after death in the body of a clone just enough to make it not only believable, but accepting that even in the creepy scenario there is the truth of comedy waiting to be unveiled.
A clone and their original cannot co-exist, each offers a sense of uniqueness that cannot be fully disputed, each wants what the human heart offers, but as Dual delves into, the clone is more than just a science experiment, it is not governed by the laws laid out by Asimov, it is a sentient creature under attack, its own life hangs in the balance.
Sarah and her clone, played with creative understatement that beguiles the observer, have a year to train for the place of being the one and only, and yet as the year goes by, Sarah’s double becomes more like Sarah than she can cope with, and the drama of life weighs heavy on her young soul.
The question put is one that frames the film perfectly, just how much of us is truly unique; for as Sarah succumbed to her own difficulties, so now does the double, the only way out is for one to die. In a metaphor perhaps for fighting with our inner turmoil, or even the fear that inside of us is actually two minds battling for control, Dual is a film that catches the imagination gloriously, but makes us think of how we leave this world, we either tread carefully and leave no trace, or we rage against our own actions and leave a scar upon the face of the Earth.
A film of moral questions wrapped up in the faith arms of dark comedy; a winner whichever way you come to view it.
Ian D. Hall