Villeneuve’s ‘An Enemy’ locks international cast

Will Perkins
·Blogger

Quebec filmmaker Denis Villeneuve ("Polytechnique") made waves a few years ago with his dark family drama "Incendies." Numerous awards and nominations, including a boatload of Genies and a Best Foreign Language Film nom at the Oscars, raised Villeneuve's profile on the world stage immensely.

It's that heightened profile that has helped Villeneuve assemble an impressive international cast for his English-language debut, the erotic thriller "An Enemy." The ominously titled film is headlined by Jake Gyllenhaal ("Source Code") and co-stars "Inglourious Basterds'" Mélanie Laurent, frequent David Cronenberg collaborator and Toronto native Sarah Gadon ("A Dangerous Method"), and cinematic muse Isabella Rossellini ("Blue Velvet") -- not a bad lineup for a "lowly" Canada-Spain co-production.

The film, which begins shooting in Toronto next week, tells the story of Adam, a man on a quest to find his exact double after seeing the doppelganger in a movie. Based on the José Saramago novel "The Double," Gyllenhaal will play Adam and his identical counterpart. Laurent is set to play Adam's girlfriend and Gadon the wife of the lookalike. It is unknown what role Rossellini will play, but given her track record, she's sure to be portraying a mysterious and alluring figure of some kind. Rossellini is a talented actress who tends to get typecast in those type of roles, most recently in Canadian director Guy Maddin's oddball odyssey "Keyhole."

An intriguing hook and a stellar cast is a very good start for "An Enemy," so this is a film to look out for. Thanks to his previous work, director Villeneuve has quickly become one of Canada's most talked about filmmakers. The director has consistently taken risks in his previous movies, ensuring that even if "An Enemy" isn't great, it's still sure to be interesting. If this English language transition is success, it likely won't be too long until Hollywood starts calling.

Also on Yahoo! Movies Canada:

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Wales school stabbing - latest: Girl arrested on suspicion of attempted murder as teachers and pupil stabbed

    Police and ambulance called out to Amman Valley School in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire

  • EU must spend more on Nato to fight Putin, says Sunak after his £75bn defence spending boost

    The prime minister warned the world was now “more dangerous now than at any moment since the Cold War” as it faces what he has called “an axis of authoritarian states”

  • Cuba apologizes to Canada for delivering wrong body to grieving family

    Cuba apologized to Canada on Wednesday after authorities accidentally delivered the remains of another man to a Canadian family grieving the loss of a loved one who died while vacationing on the Caribbean island in March. Faraj Jarjour, a Canadian citizen of Syrian descent, died of a heart attack in the Varadero beach resort two hours east of Havana on March 22, according to a report by Canada's CBC news agency. Weeks later, his family was shocked to find the body of a tattooed man many years younger in the casket delivered from Cuba to a funeral home near Montreal, the family told the CBC.

  • South London school worker who abused position to groom teenager jailed

    Michael Commettant groomed teenager in ‘utterly disgraceful abuse of trust’

  • How did a fourth grader have a gun at school? CMPD, CMS won’t say.

    Another student spotted the weapon, and school staff immediately took the gun, school principal said.

  • “Canada has the best health care": Markham man receives kidney transplant at age 87

    June 11, 2023 marked a day of rebirth for Markham resident Walter Tom Tauro, who received a kidney transplant at St. Michael’s Hospital at the age of 87 years and 262 days, earning recognition from Guinness World Records as the oldest kidney transplant recipient worldwide. Tauro had been grappling with kidney disease for 15 years. The relentless dialysis treatments robbed his life of quality, prompting his desire for a kidney transplant to regain a semblance of normalcy. Having joined the wait l

  • Starbucks loses appeal over union election at Seattle store

    A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday rejected Starbucks' claims that an election won by a union at the coffee company's flagship Seattle store was invalid because it was held via mail ballot during the COVID-19 pandemic. A three-judge 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel upheld a National Labor Relations Board decision that said the company, which is facing a nationwide union organizing campaign, must recognize and bargain with the store's union, which represents nearly 100 workers. Starbucks claimed that a labor board official who ordered the mail-ballot election in March 2022 used the wrong data to determine that an in-person election was unsafe because there was an upward trend in COVID cases in the Seattle area at the time.

  • Zoe Ball's son Woody shares goodbye tribute to "wonderful" granny

    Zoe Ball's son Woody Cook has penned a tribute to his grandmother after she passed away.

  • New search underway tied to Gilgo Beach murder investigation: Sources

    Investigators are searching a wooded area in Manorville, New York, as part of the Gilgo Beach murders investigation, law enforcement sources told ABC News. The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office declined to comment on the specific nature of the search. "The Suffolk County Police Department, the New York Police Department and the New York State Police are working with the District Attorney's Office on an ongoing investigation," the district attorney's office said.

  • Coventry City vs Hull City LIVE: Championship team news, line-ups and more

    Follow all the action from The Coventry Building Society Arena

  • US urges all armed forces in Sudan to halt North Darfur attacks

    The United States on Wednesday called on all armed forces in Sudan to immediately cease attacks in al-Fashir, North Darfur, as Sudan's army battles the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for control of the vast north African country. In a statement, the U.S. State Department said it was "alarmed by indications of an imminent offensive" against the city by the RSF and its militias that would endanger civilians, including hundreds of thousands of displaced people. It also said it was troubled by RSF's reported razing of multiple villages west of al-Fashir as well as "indiscriminate" aerial bombing and humanitarian aid limits by Sudanese Armed Forces.

  • Renters' Reform Bill gets sign off from MPs - but indefinite delay to no-fault evictions ban remains

    MPs have voted in favour of the government's Renters' Reform Bill - despite it including an indefinite delay to the end of no-fault evictions. A debate on the legislation ran throughout Wednesday afternoon, including around a new clause from the government which would hold off outlawing Section 21s until a review of the courts system had taken place. A Section 21 notice is the legal mechanism allowing landlords to evict tenants without providing a reason, which creates uncertainty for those who rent their homes.

  • Avalanche score 4 in 2nd period, beat Jets 5-2 and even series at 1-1

    Artturi Lehkonen had a goal and assist and the Colorado Avalanche scored four goals in the second period in a 5-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets to tie the first-round playoff series at a game apiece.

  • 3 suspects, including juvenile, arrested after armed robbery near Fort Worth restaurant

    The suspects allegedly took cash and a mobile phone from the victim in a McDonald’s parking lot and then fled the scene.

  • Coroner Recalls Emotional Day Doomsday Dad’s First Wife Died

    Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Rexburg Police DepartmentWhen Fremont County Coroner Brenda Dye arrived at Chad Daybell’s Idaho home in October 2019, she immediately had questions about how the prominent Doomsday author’s wife had died.Just 45 minutes earlier, Daybell’s son had called 911 in a panic after finding his mother, Tammy Daybell, “stiff” in her bedroom. Daybell then told officers that his wife of nearly 30 years was “clearly dead” and that she was “frozen.”Dye ente

  • 5 people from Maine arrested during DFO elver fishery patrol in Nova Scotia

    Federal fisheries officers patrolling for unauthorized elver fishing arrested five people from Maine last weekend in southwest Nova Scotia, adding to the evidence that groups from outside the province have flocked to local rivers to catch the lucrative juvenile eels.The Department of Fisheries and Oceans said in a news release Wednesday officers seized nearly 3½ kilograms of elvers during the arrests in the Meteghan area of Digby County, along with a vehicle and four nets. The department did not

  • The Latest | Germany will resume working with UN relief agency for Palestinians after a review

    Germany said Wednesday that it plans to follow several other countries in resuming cooperation with the U.N. relief agency for Palestinians in Gaza after the publication of an independent review of its neutrality. The head of the Arab League hailed the report, saying it showed that Israel’s allegations were baseless and part of a “systematic campaign” meant to end the mandate of the agency. The Israeli Foreign Ministry called Germany’s decision “regrettable and disappointing.” Israel says that h

  • TikTok ban: Why the app could really disappear soon

    People have been talking about banning TikTok for longer than they haven’t – but it could finally be on its way

  • A Look At The Fair Value Of LCI Industries (NYSE:LCII)

    Key Insights Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, LCI Industries fair value estimate is US$98.13 With US$111...

  • Why isn’t Manchester United vs Sheffield United on TV?

    Everything you need to know about the Premier League fixture