Lacan theory within a film

Enemy (2013)

At its core Enemy is a film about fear, the story follows a man named Adam, who discovers he has an exact doppelgänger, who lives a complete opposite life to him. Whilst Adam is mild mannered and essentially timid, his doppelgänger is the opposite, aggressive and confident. The film explores the relationship between the two, there opposing lives and the relationships they are involved in.




Within a few minutes of watching it becomes clear that the film is an exploration of Adam subconscious, whilst were never explicitly told that this is the case we can se it clearly through the mise en scene, camera techniques and even the narrative itself.

One scene that perfectly represents the lacan theory is the initial meeting between adam and his doppelgänger. Up to this point in the film Adam knows what he wants, he wants to meet his doppelgänger, this is the desire that he believes will fill his lack, as he walks to the motel door he is in centre frame, he is in control of the situation. A prostitute passes him clutching onto a room key, the camera suddenly cuts to a wide shot focussed on the top of her suspenders, we see in the background that Adam is still there, walking past her, however this time rather than being in focus and centre framed, he is to the left, the camera blurs him so we can only vaguely make out that this indeed adam. We can view this as an extension of our protagonists conscious, Upon seeing the prostitute and her Stockings, Adam is suddenly conflicted, is meeting his doppolganger truly what he wants?, or is he simply chasing his primal urge for sex?, If one was to watch the film in its entirety than this would easily be compatible with the Lacanian lack throughout the film, but as we are only analysing one scene, we shall ignore this.

The next key scene following this is the initial meeting between Adam and his doppelgänger. the two stand opposite each other, the camera remains completely still, simply observing the two, in an almost clinical manner. the camera for this scene can perhaps mimic the audiences perception and spectatorship of the film, simply an observer into this individuals mind, powerless to have any interaction within it.

The two show each other there hands, they comment on how similar they are. the doppelgänger than asks Adam if he has a scar on his chest from when he was a child, this freaks Adam out and he hurriedly leaves the room. We can perceive this as Adam realising that perhaps the doppelgänger is exactly what he has been lacking, the doppelgänger is a confident, assertive and bold figure, everything that Adam is not (Adam being obedient, withdrawn and almost afraid). The same goes in reverse, Even though the doppelgänger has a seemingly comfy home life, with a pregnant wife and a relatively wealthy standard of living, his fear of commitment means that he is always seeking a way out of this comfy home life, ( numerous references to his affair throughout the film).