Stearns doesn’t quite nail the macabre mundanity of absurdist classics such as Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Lobster, but he gives it a good shot, drawing a surprisingly committed performance from Karen Gillan.

| Sep 16, 2023

I adored the deadpan, awkward, monotone delivery from Karen Gillan! Plus I love that the movie really touched into our insecurities as human beings. I was entertained but left needing more

| Jul 25, 2023

Dual boasts an intriguing, high-concept premise that entirely commits to Riley Stearns' deadpan satire. But despite being full of purpose and intent, the latter component is taken to such an extreme that it negatively impacts everything that surrounds it.

| Original Score: C- | Jul 23, 2023

The unpredictability of life is highlighted in Dual.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 23, 2023

While Stearns’ comedy is frequently dark and sardonic, Dual is a bit warmer and more spiritual than the average satire, which is surprising given its subject matter.

| Jun 6, 2023

The absence at the center of the story isn’t a failure of imagination. It’s an effort, I think, to get at the feeling of, and mechanics, of depression

| May 5, 2023

Out of breath by the time it reaches its lukewarm conclusion, this mostly unpretentious sci-fi ultimately misses its shot at greatness.

| Apr 25, 2023

The double entendre of Dual, as deadly as it might be, makes for a delightful, distressing experience.

| Original Score: B+ | Dec 10, 2022

Riley Stearns engages the eyes, tickles the funny bone, and provokes the mind. This is a quiet stunner across multiple fronts that sneaks up on you with its intelligence and humor.

| Nov 22, 2022

There is an absurdity and matter of factness to the humour and science fiction reminiscent of the work of Yorgos Lanthimos... Dual features two great performances from its lead but similar to the Sarahs, never quite comes together as a whole.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 13, 2022

The cast are all excellent and have a lot of fun with Stearns’ deliberately stilted, pragmatic dialogue.

| Sep 17, 2022

Dual sports a compelling sci-fi concept and has a solid start, but it stumbles in the home stretch, despite the best efforts of star Karen Gillan.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Sep 1, 2022

… had the potential to explore the human condition through a clever concept but eventually lacks any punch.

| Original Score: 11/20 | Aug 13, 2022

For those of us for whom Stearns long ago won over, Dual is a satisfying ride that – while wandering into generic territory that is relatively new for him – shares his fascination with ritual and themes of individuality, connection and disconnection.

| Aug 11, 2022

Though Dual is hardly a faultless film, it still whets our appetite for whatever absurd film Stearns dreams up next.

| Aug 8, 2022

Riley Stearns’ clone-in-existential-crisis drama Dual suffers from both lazy storytelling and having been beaten to the punch on its high concept by the Mahershala Ali-starring Swan Song.

| Aug 2, 2022

Writer-director Riley Stearns, whose The Art of Self-Defense landed on my 10 Best list for 2019, returns with another picture that adds dark humor to disturbing scenarios. But this one falls apart during its final stretch.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jul 23, 2022

I won’t give Dual a free pass because it doesn’t develop the ideas it introduces well enough. But if your faith in humankind has taken a beating in the last few weeks, some dyspeptic laughs at the expense of the human condition might feel just right.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 30, 2022

Similar to Stearns' previous "The Art of Self-Defense," there's plenty of deadpan humor, along with a strong performance from Gillan, but it is on the lazy side with developing characters and the world for which it's based.

| Original Score: 6/10 | Jun 27, 2022

What I enjoyed most about this film was Karen’s eccentric performance. Her deadpan bluntness and awkward social mannerisms make this character memorable.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 22, 2022