"DUAL" // SUNDANCE 2022 WRAP-UP

BY MATEO MORENO

DUAL is a film that, on the surface, seems quite similar to last year's SWAN SONG, starring Mahershala Ali and now streaming on Apple TV. However the actual construction of the films are quite different and this film manages to stand on its own. Set in the near future, DUAL is a satirical sci-fi that imagines a world where you can clone yourself if you are dying or plan on killing yourself. For Sarah (Karen Gillian), she learns that she has a rare disease that is surely going to kill her. Well, 98% sure. She decides to do the cloning procedure so that her family (husband and mother) won't grieve her loss when she's gone. Her clone is quickly created and due to a small error has different color eyes than Sarah. Other than that, she is a practical duplicate of her. So Sarah begins to show her how to live her life, teaching her everything she will need to know.

Yet the bump in the road is coming. Sarah receives good news from her doctor suddenly, just as suddenly as she received the bad news. Somehow, Sarah has gone into recovery and won't die after all. There's only one problem. A clone and the original person cannot exist at the same time, so the clone normally is decommissioned. Yet in rare cases, the clone can challenge this, resulting in a duel to the death to determine who will be allowed to remain living the life of said person, in this case Sarah. So is the set-up for this intriguing and often dryly hilarious satire. DUEL manages to poke fun at a lot of things, namely the health care system and our need for violence as a spectator sport, and does so with an extremely dry wit and purposefully stilted style. Every character speaks in a monotone, as if nearly everything in this world exhausts them.

Karen Gillian does solid work here, playing both the original Sarah and the clone. She showcases stark differences between the two and her comic timing is spot on. Aaron Paul is also very fun to watch, playing a training coach she hires to get ready for her dual. Where the film falters is the overall wrap up. A lot of questions don't quite get answered, such as why can't the clone and original exist in the world and how did this all start. And the ending, which is teased by a thrilling opening sequence, doesn't land in the way that I feel it was intended to. Still, DUEL is a very interesting and entertaining satirical yarn, showcasing a future that doesn't seem to  match any expectations we may have of it. Riley Steams, who wrote and directed, paces it all along well (until the end) and cleverly crafts an overall enjoyable film, one that leaves a mark, even with the missed landing. 

GRADE: B+

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY Riley Steams STARRING Karen Gillan, Aaron Paul, Beulah Koale. SELECTED AS PART OF THE 2022 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL. FOR MORE INFO: DUAL