This is the narrative of a history professor called Adam Bell (Jake Gyllenhaal) seeking out his identical double after spotting him in a rental film. He is a rather melancholic man, primarily because he is hooked in a routine which encircles the relationship with Mary, his girlfriend. Upon first viewing, we have a definite grasp on the central story. On the other hand, this film is much harder to decipher many of its hidden messages. It was the added elements of spiders, keys and surreal imageries that had people question this movie’s deep roots, metaphors and symbolisms.

There are not correct and incorrect interpretations of ENEMY. However, the director, Denis Villeneuve, made it clear that Adam Bell does not have an identical twin. They …show more content…
That this is a pattern that repeats itself throughout history.”

This repeating pattern is mentioned quite often in the film. Continuing to a next scene, the wires above Toronto appear to be similar a spider web. This is not a coincidence. The director, Denis Villeneuve, especially placed the camera at this precise angle to have the lines converge in a shape of a web reminiscing a strong imagery of spiders. On his way home, Teacher-Adam passes a mural of a man giving a roman fascist symbol. Disobedience against rule, dictatorships and anxiety of commitment are all themes that this film has laced.

The next scenes make it clear that his life is immensely repetitious. He gives lectures, which just come off as learnt by heart and later has sex with his girlfriend. Soon a co-worker recommends a film to him, smilingly out of the blue, without any real built up to this conversation. There for, Teacher-Adam decides to rent this film at the nearest video store. In the store, a soft song is playing in the background called The Cheater by Bob Kuban & The In Men. Its lyrics tell the story of a man who has no control of his sensual urges. After watching the film, he thinks about it and in the recessive of his mind, points out a man that looks exactly like him in the film. He goes through the film again, finding the scene where he spotted his undistinguishable mirror image. Teacher-Adam becomes obsessed meeting this man from the film he just watched and …show more content…
This aphorism supplements the theory of Actor-Adam having extreme commitment issue mostly driven by fear of being controlled or dictated by a woman. This is when we get our next spider symbol. A woman with a spider-head passes by him as he walks down a corridor. He has this vision after his wife was questioning him about his real motives.

Once in front of each other, Teacher-Adam hands the letter to Actor-Adam and they start confronting each other. Teacher-Adam can’t even bring himself enough to say that he had not slept with Actor-Adam’s wife. At this point, a deal is made. Actor-Adam gets to take Teacher-Adam’s girlfriend out on a date and then he says he will disappear from his life forever and then, they will be even. I believe he’s intentionally starting a war with his subconscious in an attempt to eliminate the negative parts so he could be with his wife in reality and remain faithful. There for, he will be one person