Dual (4 Stars)

The film takes place in the near future. Karen Gillan plays Sarah, a young woman who's suffering from a rare terminal illness. She repeatedly coughs up blood. She's told that she only has a few weeks left to live.

The hospital counsellor suggests that she should let herself be cloned. It's a common procedure for people who know they're going to die. After her death her clone will be a comfort for her friends and family, as if they've never lost her.

The clone is ready within a few hours. There's an interim period in which the clone lives with Sarah to get acquainted with her life. Sarah's husband accepts the clone into their life, but Sarah doesn't tell anyone else.

After ten months Sarah is told that she's no longer ill. She isn't allowed to keep the clone, so it – should I say she? – will have to be decommissioned. When she goes home to tell her clone, the clone insists on staying alive. Sarah's husband also says that he's fallen in love with the clone and wants to keep her. The law doesn't allow a person and her clone to both carry on living. They offer to let Sarah die instead, but she wants to live.

There's one last alternative. Sarah and her clone can fight to the death. They're given six months to prepare. Sarah does a rigorous course of combat training.

What about the double? We don't see her any more. Maybe she's training as well, maybe she isn't.

This is a ridiculous film. It's been described as a black comedy. A lot of humour comes from the matter-of-fact way extreme situations are discussed. The lawyer tells Sarah that she can sign a document agreeing to die without the slightest hint of emotion. The film was a box office flop, understandably. It's not the sort of film that many people would like. I enjoyed it, and I think it's worth watching again.

Success Rate:  - 10.6

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