The Double (2011 film)

Not to be confused with The Double (2013 film).
The Double

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Michael Brandt
Produced by Ashok Amritraj
Written by Derek Haas
Michael Brandt
Starring Richard Gere
Topher Grace
Stephen Moyer
Odette Yustman
Stana Katic
Chris Marquette
Tamer Hassan
Martin Sheen
Music by John Debney
Cinematography Jeffrey L. Kimball
Edited by Steve Mirkovich
Production
company
Hyde Park Entertainment
Imagenation Abu Dhabi
Distributed by Image Entertainment
Release dates
  • October 28, 2011
Running time
 98 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Box office $3,696,232[1]

The Double is a 2011 spy film, directed by Michael Brandt and starring Richard Gere and Topher Grace. It was released on October 28, 2011.

Plot

Two FBI agents are surveilling a warehouse. As a U.S. senator Dennis Darden (Ed Kelly) walks out of the door, he is approached by an assassin from behind who slits his throat and escapes. The agents rush to the scene to find the man dead. However, they could not identify the assassin as he committed the murder in darkness. Later, CIA officers arrive on the scene and take charge.

Retired operative Paul Shepherdson (Richard Gere) is summoned by CIA director Tom Highland (Martin Sheen) to look into the murder. He is introduced to a young FBI agent, Ben Geary (Topher Grace), who is an expert on a former Soviet operative known as Cassius, whom Geary predicts to have committed the murder due to his signature throat-slitting method.

Paul and Ben visit Brutus (Stephen Moyer), one of Cassius's proteges, who had been locked up in prison, to learn the whereabouts of Cassius. They provide him with a radio and leave. The prisoner then swallows the batteries from the radio and fakes an upset stomach. Upon arriving at a hospital, he spits out the batteries, overpowers the medical staff, and escapes. In the basement's garage, he is attacked by Paul, who reveals himself to be Cassius. Cassius slits his throat. Upon investigating the crime scene, Ben grows suspicious of Paul. Meanwhile, a Russian terrorist and murderer, Bozlovski (Tamer Hassan), has entered the U.S.

As the investigation deepens, Paul warns Ben to pull out, due to the possibility of harm to his family. Ben, who has become obsessed with the idea that Paul is Cassius, starts his own parallel investigation. Meanwhile, Paul tries to contact Bozlovski in a factory where he escapes after an intense firefight. Ben examines another throat-slitting murder of Bozlovski's associate at the same site and is now convinced Paul is Cassius.

Ben pieces together the events of Paul's life and determines that not only is Paul actually Cassius, but also that he is systematically murdering the people involved in the death of his wife and child, who were assassinated by Bozlovski.

Paul has now tracked down Bozlovski to a shipyard warehouse. A while later, Ben also arrives at the plant. After being confronted with the evidence, Paul confesses everything. Paul then confronts Ben with the fact that Ben is a Russian spy, which Paul learned at one of Ben's informant drop-offs. He is able to convince Ben that Bozlovski is the actual threat. When Ben reveals that he has plans to return to Russia after this is over, Paul tries to convince him to stay in the FBI and with the family he has grown to love.

Together they hunt down Bozlovski inside the shipyard's warehouse. Bozlovski attacks Paul and Ben, and in the ensuing struggle, a mortally wounded Paul slits Bozlovski's throat using his garrote-watch. However, Paul himself later succumbs to his own injuries. As the only witness, FBI agent Ben relays the incident to his superiors and claims that Bozlovski was Cassius, thereby securing Paul's reputation and recognizing his heroism. As Ben departs, the CIA director Highland asks him whether he would ever consider working at the CIA.

The film ends with Ben returning to his home.

Cast

Reception

The film received mostly negative reviews from critics, earning it a 20% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 43 reviews.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "The Double (2011)". Box Office Mojo. 2011-11-17. Retrieved 2013-12-13.
  2. ↑ "The Double". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 19, 2012.

External links