Faux-semblants

David Cronenberg is a director of great unique vision, and he ranks highly on my list of favorites, not because every film he does is great per se, but because there is a certain level of consistency and quality that infects each bizarre celluloid mutation he comes up with. David Lynch and Stanley Kubrick have done a few good films, but their track records are generally inconsistent--Cronenberg, while grossly underrated, outshines them all. And "Dead Ringers"--probably his most widely-praised film in the mainstream, next to "The Fly"--is no exception. The film is quite puzzling on first inspection, and I did have a hard time settling into the mentality that would let me enjoy it, but once I did, I was thoroughly impressed--whether playing the smarmy Elliott or the sensitive Beverly Mantle, Jeremy Irons gives a wonderfully nuanced performance as identical twin gynecologists (the subtleties of difference in personality command multiple viewings to register). Not only is the film's central theme both compelling and disturbing (one personality split between two people), but the descent into (prescription) drug addiction and botched gynecological procedures (with Cronenberg's trademark insect-like surgical instruments) will make your skin crawl. It's a bleak, depressing, and tragic tale, but it shows brotherly relations with an intimacy few films ever approach. Anchored by Irons' spectacular dual performance, "Dead Ringers" is a film that shows a lot of maturity on Cronenberg's part, and though it might be hard to call it 'entertaining,' it does contain harsh imagery with an emotional pulse that will not be easily forgotten.

7/10

Elliot and Beverly Mantle (Jeremy Irons) are identical twins that are top-of-the-class and incredibly well known gynaecologists. They also treat themselves by swapping their identities around, so they can share each other's work commitments and pleasures, like woman. But all of this comes back to destroy them emotionally and physically.

An intriguing and rather inventive premise director / co-writer David Cronenberg has come up with here. The worlds Cronenberg creates in his film's are rather fascinating in looking at the human body and technology. This film is no exception. So you can't really call this mainstream, as it's not for everyone's tastes. That's why his films seem to have great impact in the realistic visuals and material context. It's flowing with originality, good psychological elements, erotica and it holds such an artistic feel with its stunning visuals and elegance to show.

This thought-provoking drama is rather stimulating and quite downbeat. Though, it's mostly a talkative film; the dialogue is dense on many levels that it's truly captivating. It's more the material context that tries to shock and explore in a subtle way rather than the horrific visuals and shocks that we come to expect from most of Cronenberg's films. It doesn't contain much graphic moments, only about one or two. The sub-plots are drawn up quite well with dabbling in sexual desires and pleasure, technology (instruments and tools of the trade), the twins physical bond, addiction and a rather modernistic world. It's filled with sharp and intense sequences that are entrenched with an effective music score, as it overwhelmingly draws you in. This unsettling aurora builds into paranoia in the last half of the film and it ends rather disturbingly. The stylish production valves are incredibly glossy and professional. With beautifully crafted and slick cinematography. The gloomy colours that fill the screen hold great contrast in the moody and detail backdrop. From their fashionable home to their cold work office.

Jeremy Iron gives a tremendously charismatic performance playing both Elliot and Beverly Mantle. Elliot is Beverly's backbone as he's confident and arrogant. Beverly is the opposite as he's more innocent and rather sweet. Beverly wants to break the bond that they share, but Elliot can't let that happen. At first they weren't that likable, but the further the film goes along we see their downfall and there spiral into madness. That's when you start to feel for them and it gets rather emotionally charged. They also live and depend on each other, feeling what the other one feels and that's mostly pain and gloom here. This happens when they start to depend on painkillers and Beverly believing his girlfriend is cheating on him. This portrait shows how fragile they really are and how we really depend and feel when love ones are in pain and sorrow. As we are effected in the same way too. Genevieve Bujold is splendid as Claire Niveau the movie star and Beverly's love interest.

Maybe the film was a bit overlong, but this is a shockingly grim and efficient film that plays on many levels of the mind.

I was in a Cronenberg kick when I picked up Dead Ringers. I had just seen The Fly and eXistenZ, both of which I loved, and I was bent on renting Crash, but the idiotic Puritanical video store (Hollywood Video) only had the R rated, edited for content version. So I saw this video, so I rented it.

And boy was I impressed for an hour. I was utterly interested in all the characters. The cast was flawless, and it was a masterpiece. I was absolutely fascinated.

And then, about an hour through, every single character gets addicted on prescription drugs. It becomes so completely run-of-the-mill that I felt robbed. Also, some of the characters' decisions seem completely unbelievable. For instance, one twin, to understand his brother's drug habit, gets himself hooked on drugs. I realize this is based on a true story, but I doubt that that was the reason the second brother got hooked on drugs. I found myself not caring about the characters anymore. I felt bored. I even thought the ending, which many find amazing, unsatisfying. It was very difficult to understand what was going on, and even when the film ended, I was confused. But by that point, I didn't care enough to figure it out.

This film is surely worth seeing for its amazing first half. I loved it. But when the characters all get hooked on drugs, just shut it down. 7/10

While I like "The Brood" quite a bit, Dead Ringers gets my vote as Cronenberg's best work.

Follow along as the twin brothers spiral out of control when they unsuccessfully try to break free from each other. One's more confident, the other more timid. But they depend on each other, and at middle age neither has the psychological strength to be their own person; they still don't have a sense of self. Among many favorite moments, I love the scene where Elliott, the more confident twin, tries to kiss Claire. It's his way of trying to synchronize himself with his brother Beverly, whom Claire has a true connection with. "I'm sorry but I can't", she intones. Elliott turns to the mirror, disturbed. "Am I really that different from my brother?". He absolutely does not know who he is.

Although it's not without some humor, Dead Ringers is very bleak. It has an emotional intensity that most movies can't touch. It is sad AND beautiful.

The movie itself *looks* great. Good script, and AWESOME performances from both Irons and Bujold. As another reviewer suggested, watch it twice if you don't like it the first time- it might grow on you.

This is my all-time favorite movie.

Growing up together as social outcasts with only each other for company, twins Elliot and Beverly Mantle become very close. This closeness becomes more like them both sharing one self in two bodies as they study in the same area and eventually become experts in the field of gynaecology. They share everything and few can tell them apart; an arrangement that works well until Beverly falls for a patient (Claire Niveau) and finds that there are things he doesn't want to share with Elliot. As Bev confronts the idea of them being separate for the first time ever, he starts to fall apart mentally and, when Elliot tries to reach out and help him he too is drawn into confusion over identity and an inability to find where one of them stops and the other starts.

Being a Cronenberg film I knew to expect body horror and, shall I say, an 'unusual' theme and in many ways the film delivered in spades but in a much more cerebral fashion. The plot is not easy to explain but it is a totally convincing breakdown of both Elliot and Beverly as they lose contact with the lines between them (if the lines ever really existed). Of course it is rather extreme but it is relentlessly interesting in terms of the script and the characters. The gynaecological part of the film allows Cronenberg to explore his more usual body horror stuff but this all came second to the much more interesting material that exists in the script. Cronenberg appears to be as fascinated as me by the characters and he directs with a cold eye, letting the creepy atmosphere come from not only the story but every shot, every set and every performance; not only this but this is one of his more accessible films without losing much of what makes Cronenberg Cronenberg.

Of course a massive part of the film working is two perfect performances from Jeremy Irons, who I have not seen better in any other films. Using special effects as well as the old 'over the shoulder' technique, Irons is able to convincingly be on screen in two characters at the same time, but it is not the shot framing that makes it convincingly two characters, it is Irons' performance that does that. His Beverly is so feeble and has a convincing breakdown; while his Elliot appears much more together but suffers in a different way from the same struggle. Obviously being identical, it is due to Irons that the two characters come across so very different but yet seem just like the same person. In every little scene he manages to stay in character no matter what – it's hard for me to describe, you need to really see it for yourself. Bujold is good in support early on but, as the twins' story gets more complex, her characters feels a bit intrusive and uninteresting, but generally she is good. However, to talk about anyone beyond this is to suggest there is room for them in the film – there isn't. Instead the film is pretty much dominated by two people – and they are both Jeremy Irons, producing two great performances that were vital for the film to work.

Overall this may be a little too weird for some viewers but many more will find it to be one of their favourite Cronenberg films on the basis that it has the qualities that makes him him but is also a lot more accessible as well. The body horror is there in the background but it is the psychological scarring and confusion that is of much more interest; the script is great even if the plot goes to the usual Cronenberg excesses but it is two perfect performances by Irons that makes it all come together in a compelling and interesting film.