Faux-semblants

I am a big Cronenberg fan, and I am very familiar with the original Dead Ringers. I will not compare them since this is a reimagining- but I will say they really are extremely dissimilar.

This show looks great, and Rachel plays the parts extremely well. The practical effects are SOLID- lot's of blood but I can imagine how it would be too much for some with all the graphic birth depiction. That being said- the show can be very hard to follow. It's all over the place, jumping from place to place sometimes from time to time with no indication. They are also introducing new characters all the way up to episode 5 (there are only 6). I think it could be a bit more cohesive. Yes, I do understand that is the point- it's supposed to be disorienting and the twins are supposed to sometimes be indistinguishable, so maybe you'll see it differently than I did.

This is obviously not going to be everyone's cup of tea but you can admire the tea for its craftsmanship, its body, shape, texture, colour. You can wonder at the tea ceremony and beauty of hostess without caring for the taste of the tea itself.

Dead Ringers is a film that shines light on dark places. Uncomfortable places. Places that we either prefer not to know about or that we push to furthest recesses of our brains, in our attempts to maintain the dissonance of our modern world in our minds.

Rachel Weisz is extraordinary as light and shade, identical twins so physically similar and yet so disparate in nature as to like the Angels Michael and Lucifer. Certainly one of them has designs on playing God.

No one plays a dud role in the film. Poppy Liu plays her typically kooky character. Jennifer Ehle is fabulous as the big bad guy... I would venture to say this is a Meryl Streepesque performance.

I'm not going to pretend I get it all. Some pieces either don't fit together, or I need to (gladly) rewatch for clarity.

From a piece of pure art, the work is terrific. Throw in two Rachel Weisz', a story that is important and a clarion call for the the not very distant future, and the superb dialogue between Eliot and Agnus on the roof top and I gave Dead Ringers 8+

When I first heard about this series, I knew it wasn't a good idea. However, I decided to give it a chance because Rachel Weisz was in it. After watching it, I can say that it was a complete waste of time. If you were a fan of the movie version, your disappointment will be even greater. Rachel Weisz, who is also one of the producers, said that it's not exactly a remake, it's more like a re-imagining, but I still couldn't watch it without comparing.

Lots of things are wrong with this series. All the characters are exaggerated, unrealistic, and unbearable. The tone is unclear, making it difficult to determine if it is a comedy, drama, or horror, as none of them are executed well. By changing the gender and sexuality, they destroyed the conflict that the movie had, and they could have created a new conflict, but they failed to do so successfully.

I also didn't like the significant hair difference between the twins in the series. I know it's useful, especially in the final scene, but in the movie, the difference was not clear, and sometimes the audience was confused about which twin was which, which was, I think, an essential element in the movie. Even Jeremy Irons sometimes gets confused.

In short, this series is one of the worst remakes that we've seen in recent years.

The series gained good traction after the first half. Production quality was top notch, though was shot a bit dark for my tastes. I think it was a challenge to take the original material and work it into a less Cronenberg and more 21st century theme. I believe it was a success and was just as interesting as the earlier film. I've long been an admirer of Rachel Weisz and was really impressed with her in the dinner scene in episode four at about the 39 minute mark. That's the one that rings award nominations for me. She has had many risky diverse roles in her career and this performance ranks among her best. Dark themes for sure, but executed really well.

Upon conclusion of watching all six episodes I read a number of the reviews and felt like I wished that I had seen the original. Perhaps there is some redeeming value in it. I found nothing in this awful story that was edifying.

To be fair the first two episodes were somewhat interesting. Kind of provocative, made me a little patient to see what might unfold. But, by half way through the fourth I had to force myself to continue.

You certainly have every right to question my state of mind that I continued to punish myself and watch the whole twisted meaningless confusing and wasted effort!

Many other reviews pointed to some of the specific failings of this gross production. They were correct. I'll finish by saying you're better off just watching the news.