I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. There I said it. But I can’t in good conscience give it a blanket recommendation.  The setting is dystopian and almost steampunk. Color palette is full of grey and shades of taupe.  Its a black comedy. Its strange funny, not laugh out loud funny. The dialog is simple. Jesse Eisenberg as Simon is meek and creepy, but his portrayal of James in the same clothing is charismatic to the point of being arrogant at times. It really shows Jesse’s range.  There are subtleties.  I already know there are people that can’t  be bothered by subtleties. I watched it twice.

This story is not new at all. It comes from an old russian short story by Fyodor Dostoevsky. The adaptation was done by none other than Richard Ayoade.