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Dostoevsky Adapted

As a companion piece to the fall 2021 University of Iowa Main Library Gallery exhibition, From Revolutionary Outcast to a Man of God: Dostoevsky at 200, curated by Dr. Anna Barker, we present a selection of big screen adaptations of the great Russian writer's works.

Film introduction by Dr. Anna Barker.

Immediately following the screening, please stick around for a special conversation between Dr. Anna Barker and FilmScene Programming Director, Ben Delgado.

"Like a lucid nightmare on the subway at odd hours, The Double leaves one feeling intellectually stimulated, creatively charged, and close to existential panic."—Morgan Wilcock, Film Comment Magazine

Simon (Jesse Eisenberg) is a timid man, scratching out an isolated existence in an indifferent world. He is overlooked at work, scorned by his mother, and ignored by the woman of his dreams (Mia Wasikowska). He feels powerless to change any of these things. The arrival of a new co-worker, James, serves to upset the balance. James is both Simon’s exact physical double and his opposite - confident, charismatic and good with women. To Simon’s horror, James slowly starts taking over his life. Richard Ayoade's dreamy adaptation of Dostoevsky's novella features one Jesse Eisenberg's best performances in a dual role.