While watching a live-stream of Deadly Premonition, I suggested in the chat that the main character's imaginary friend, with whom he shares endless real-life pop-culture trivia, is actually the player.

To break the illusion, there's a decent possibility that the mirrored James just didn't have a focus set on his eyes. The scene was too dark, so instead of wasting time setting facial animations that you can't see, they just left it at the default, which could have been "look at camera".