Dual

Existential sci-fi satire entertainingly shows life's futility.

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I keep seeing folks refer to writer/director Riley Stearns’ “Dual” (now playing in select theaters including AMC Indianapolis 17 before being available to stream beginning Friday, May 20) as a sci-fi comedy and I suppose to some extent it is (albeit an icily pitch-black one), but I’d argue sci-fi satire or even existential sci-fi drama would be a much more apropos designation.

It’s the none-too-distant future. Sarah (Karen Gillan) is in a spark-less relationship with Peter (Beulah Koale of CBS’ recent “Hawaii Five-O” revamp). Sarah’s mother (Maija Paunio) is constantly calling and texting her, but she often has no want or need to connect. The highlight of Sarah’s day seems to be clicking her own mouse while watching hardcore pornography on a laptop.

Just when you think Sarah’s life couldn’t get any worse, she’s diagnosed with a terminal illness. She opts to have a clone made of herself in order to ease her loved one’s pain. Miraculously, Sarah’s disease goes into remission. Turns out Peter and her mother prefer Sarah’s Double (also Gillan) to the original iteration and the clone yearns to continue living Sarah’s life.

Sarah seeks to have her duplicate decommissioned as it’s illegal for a human live longer than their clone. This leads to a court-mandated duel to death. The combatants meet at a football or soccer field where they’re each provided a table with a random selection of five weapons atop it and government officers officiate the blood-letting. (One such skirmish opens the picture and affords the co-star of a 2010s YA franchise a Drew Barrymore in “Scream”-esque cameo.) Sarah has one year to train her body and mind – during which she receives coaching from Trent (Aaron Paul, a natural deadpan) and must pay her double support – for the literal fight or her life.