Body Double

Movie Name: Body Double
Year of Release: 1984
Director: Brian De Palma
Starring: Craig Wasson, Gregg Henry, Melanie Griffith, Deborah Shelton, Dennis Franz, Guy Boyd, Al Israel, Douglas Warhit, Russ Marin, Barbara Crampton
Genre: Thriller, Mystery
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review:

Brian De Palma had a turbulent start to the 80s. The wonderful "Blow Out" (which has since then been re-evaluated and hailed as a masterpiece) failed to gain much traction with an audience, whereas "Scarface" while doing well enough at the box office, had mixed reviews. "Body Double" was a return to De Palma's universe, with a script of his own, taking place in the world of film, and toying with the notion of mistaken identities and someone's murder (his Hitchcockian legacy). The film follows the story of Jake, a young actor who is involved in a low budget film, a job he soon loses due to his crippling claustrophobia. His personal life is also crumbling, since his girlfriend is having an affair with someone else. Looking for a place to stay, Jake casually meets the charismatic Sam, another actor, who is leaving town and needs someone to check on his house while he's away. While getting Jake acquainted with the house, Sam introduces him to a neighbor, a beautiful woman who according to Sam does this sexy routine, every evening, before going to bed. Jakes becomes fascinated by her, and starts following her, soon realizing she's also being targeted by someone else, a man who has some sinister intent. As the situation has a dramatic turn, Jake starts putting pieces together, of how he was brought on into a situation that has more to it than he originally anticipated.

"Body Double" has some tints of inspiration from Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo" obviously, with the double identity of the central female character, but also the crippling phobia from the hero. However De Palma, manages to smartly mix the game by placing the action in the film community, giving some insight not only into the milieu, but also toying with the idea of what is real and what is not. He manages to capture the atmosphere of B-movies perfectly, the same going for the rabbit hole of investigation that he takes his central character on, particularly as he discovers Holly and the universe in which she works. It's a film that manages to have enough suspense, humor and as typical from De Palma's work, a virtuosic camera work and stylistic approach that make it unique and as always, entertaining. The downfall for this stylistic endeavor, ends up being the lack of character definition, even for Jake, who never becomes more than the actor out of work, investigating a murder he witnessed. The characters in general need a bit more dimension, in order to give the film more nuance and resonate a bit more. As it is, it's a stylistic exercise from a unique director, who always manages to create further impact when he sticks close to his universe.