Yorgos Lanthimos’ shadow looms large as well in Riley Stearns’ “Dual.” Set in a dystopia where terminally ill people have the option to clone themselves for the benefit of their family and friends, a woman (Karen Gillan) opts for the very procedure after receiveing a terminal diagnosis. The problem is she surprisingly ends up in remission, but not without her clone being favored by her mom and boyfriend. What happens within such a dystopia and with such a dilemma? Well, obviously, a duel to the death. The clone needs to be “decommissioned,” only by being killed. It’s court-mandated, something about a clone’s rights. Stearns won me over with 2019’s “The Art of Self-Defense,” but his latest film is so coldly distanced from the audience, with its deadpan dark humor completely falling flat, that it counts as one of the major disappointments of Sundance 2022. This is a minor work from a filmmaker filled with talent — an undercooked, not well shot, comatose script that doesn’t fully embrace its inner Lanthimos. [C]
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