The Double - The IT Crowd's Ayoade reveals distinctive cult hit at the BFI London Film Festival

As unlikely as it may seem, that the man behind the nerdy incompetence of Moss (Richard Ayoade) from the hit TV sit-com, The IT Crowd, should now want to adapt a classic Dostoyevsky text, believe it, as The Double is set to be one of the most distinctive cult hits of the last few years.

Whereas Ayoade’s on-screen persona as loveable goofball Moss might seem very convincing, in reality he is an avid cineaste. His debut film, Submarine, proved a great success, and he is amongst the most talented and ambitious of current British filmmakers.

In his follow-up film, lead character Simon James’ reclusive lifestyle is mysteriously thrown into flux when a new employee, appearing as a more confident and extroverted version of himself, threatens to usurp his very existence. Driven to the brink of madness, the disturbing finale opens up complex ideas on the nature of schizophrenic personalities and perception of the self.

Channelling two different sides of the same coin, Jesse Eisenberg shows great dexterity and range in this doppelganger routine. Whilst Mia Wasikowska effortlessly exudes the innocent beauty required as Simon’s muse. So paper thin and fragile is their relationship that the connection between the two is the beating emotional heart laying beneath all the madness.

With the latest offering from Terry Gilliam, The Zero Theorem, also screening at this year’s London Film Festival it’s impossible to ignore the far-reaching influence of Brazil lingering in the background of The Double. Simon James, a pencil-pushing clerk in a drab and unspecified government office is immediately recognisable as Jonathan Pryce’s iconic awkward hero Sam Lowry in Gilliam’s masterpiece. The overall dystopian setting of the film also encourages this connection, but the more obvious visual similarity, in relation to lighting and composition, is to David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive and Eraserhead

Although the film has been sold as an enigmatic psychological thriller, don’t be deceived in thinking Richard Ayoade has completely left his IT Crowd days behind him, quite the opposite. Juxtaposing, and sometimes jarring, between Jesse Eisenberg’s tortured nerdy humour and the more intense psychological confrontations, the atmospheric hop-scotching is handled with a deft touch.

Fans of Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, of which Ayoade was a key contributor, will find this tone exactly to their liking. Add a long list of superb cameos that will simply make you squeal to the max and The Double is a far more comedic journey than you might first anticipate.

Expect a wave of accolades heading its way, if not only for its ambition then also for its superb execution.