DVD Review: “Dual” (2022)

Dual is an interesting and curiously compelling science fiction drama that examines what value life has when it can be easily duplicated and discarded without any extra consideration.

The central premise is that when people realize they may be dying sooner than expected, say from a terminal illness, they have the option of contracting for a clone of themselves to be made. The propaganda plays on the emotional stresses the survivors may experience because of one’s passing away, and that having a clone of themselves made — identical in every way to the person who would be dying — would ease the suffering of the loved ones left behind.

There’s also the unspoken open secret of why this practice became a common part of daily life. What happened that now the feelings of the survivors continuing on with their lives are deemed more important and more worthy of compassion and consideration than the person who’s actually dying? That we have it as a mystery that’s never talked about or answered adds to the puzzle.

Karen Gillan’s dual performance is both understated and powerful. First, Sarah is going through the motions of a life she’s stuck living on autopilot, then after she’s diagnosed with a terminal illness and given a year to live, she is convinced to buy the cloning process, for the benefit of her boyfriend and mother. They spend about 10 months together, with Sarah teaching her double how to be her, but the double displays some independence of tastes and preferences along the way.

When Sarah received news from her doctor that her illness has gone into remission and she won’t be dying, she discovers that her double has gone against the plan and had already contacted her mother and boyfriend to start integrating herself into their lives. Sarah also learns that her loved ones prefer to have the double in their lives rather than Sarah, and the shock is compounded when Sarah discovers that it’s now too late for her to decommission the double and take her life back, and that her double has petitioned to remain alive.

The custom in the case of an original and a clone existing together is a brutal and public duel to the death, with the winner becoming the legal owner of the “identity” in question, and both the original and the clone have a year to train and prepare for battle.

Sarah trains with Trent (Aaron Paul) daily in order to hone her physical fitness and skills, learn hand to hand combat tactics, and become proficient with a variety of edged weapons and firearms.

There are hints dropped along the way that maybe living with the aftermath of these cloned lives continuing where the original ones ended isn’t as great or emotionally soothing as promoted or intended. Sarah progresses very well, becoming stronger and more interesting in truly living her life after this duel (which she is determined to win).

With the day of the duel approaching, Sarah notices her double has been secretly observing her training sessions, and after a chase and a tense meeting, the double convinces Sarah to attend a “duel survivors” support group with her, to see how life can still be complicated after the duel.

After the meeting, Sarah states that the insights she’s learned from listening to other originals/doubles after they’ve survived has made her question the morality and necessity of the duels. Why should only one of them go one living, when they both could live free and happy lives?

They make a plan to escape by crossing the border, and freeing themselves to both live their own separate lives. But Sarah’s double has a different plan, and she takes matters into her own hands while they are hiking through the woods towards the border. A short while later, the field where the duel is scheduled to be fought is empty and the crowd is waiting in confusion since neither combatant has appeared yet. One of them shows up, limping to the field judge, to announce that she is Sarah, and has no idea where Sarah’s double is.

Since both combatants aren’t present to hold the duel, and searches for “Sarah’s double” have been unsuccessful, the legal proceedings to make Sarah’s identity permanent conclude with her mother and boyfriend confirming that she is the original Sarah (she’s not and they are aware of that fact).

The new Sarah continues to live the old Sarah’s life just as it had been before, and the unrelenting monotony and unfulfilling future of the life she’s supposed to live begins to weigh on her and faced with the same superficial nature of the emotional connections to her mother and boyfriend Peter that original Sarah faced, the new Sarah breaks down.

This movie has layers of story and back story folded in, and for those who enjoy their movies to have a bit of a puzzle aspect to them, this will satisfy. Am I more curious because of not knowing how this little bit of cultural emotional blackmail became so ingrained? Yes, but it’s part of what makes this movie so intriguing. The lack of empathy and pathological desire to avoid hurting feelings or being emotional in public (or at all) weirdly meshes with the commercial reasonings for having this cloning practice in the first place. Are they connected somehow?

More importantly to me, this home video release has a creator commentary track! Riley Stearns provides the commentary for his movie, and elaborates on technical aspects of some of the scene and shot compositions, and small hints about how some earlier scenes and later ones are connected. Diving deeper into the making of this movie even after I’d interviewed Riley upon it’s initial release makes a repeat viewing with the commentary that much more fun.

Minor nitpicks for the DVD itself, the navigation is sparse, you can’t select chapters to jump to without playing the movie (not sure if this is the same for the blu-ray), but the transfer is eye-catching, highlighting the stark yet stunning cinematography.

Interviews with Riley Stearns and Beulah Koale: Indie Scifi: On “Dual”, disposable lives and cloned replacements

DVD and Blu-ray bonus features include “The Making of DUAL” and Director Audio Commentary.

DUAL will be available July 19 on DVD for an SRP of $27.97 and on Blu-ray for an SRP of $28.96, and is currently available on AMC+.

In DUAL, upon receiving a terminal diagnosis, Sarah (Karen Gillan) opts for a cloning procedure to ease her loss on her friends and family. When she makes a sudden and miraculous recovery, her attempts to have her clone decommissioned fail and lead to a court-mandated duel to the death. Now she has one year to train her body and mind for the fight of her life.

Starring Karen Gillan and Beulah Koale with Theo James and Aaron Paul
Written and Directed by Riley Stearns