Dead Ringers
1988 Directed by David Cronenberg
Synopsis
Twin gynecologists take full advantage of the fact that nobody can tell them apart, until their relationship begins to deteriorate over a woman.
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Berken's May 30 Days, 30 Countries Challenge Film nº 16 - Canada
Dead Ringers tells us the story of two twin brothers who share everything in life. They often impersonate each other so they can attend to each other patients or make love to a woman without anyone knowing it and tell them apart.
Although this film has a lot of body horror elements, which are common in other Cronenberg's works, the story main focus is psychological, as we follow the brothers trying to recover their own identities.
This really good and interesting script comes to life with a wonderful performance from Jeremy Irons, who plays the two brothers who are physically identical but have different personalities, which makes his acting complex but fantastic.
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I'm a big fan of Cronenberg's body horror films but until now I had never really explored his other films and I'm immediately regretting doing so. Dead Ringers is disturbing but brilliant and helped along by a stunning Jeremy Irons performance.
What I found so intriguing about Dead Ringers is the differences between the two Mantle brothers. Despite looking exactly the same, they're complete opposites personality wise and this makes for some fascinating interaction when Bev, the reserved and shy brother, falls for Claire - one of Elliot's flings. Bev's weaknesses are exposed when Claire departs for a few weeks and the films direction takes a sharp turn into the world of depression and drug abuse and this is where…
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Man can Cronenberg get the best out of an actor. You take people like Woods and Spader—damn fine performers I like a lot in anything—and hand them to David Cronenberg, he'll hand you back the kind of astounding work you never dreamed they were capable of. He does just that with Jeremy Irons here, only he goes and does it twice. Playing twins can't be easy, particularly when so many scenes are just the two of them alone, yet Irons constantly maintains distinct personalities that help in distinguishing his two characters. What's interesting is that Cronenberg tries his best to do the opposite, taking every opportunity to confuse and bewilder us as to which twin is which. It's paramount to…
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Cronenberg's absolute genius on show. Plus, a Jeremy Irons performance that is frankly mesmerising.
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Given that this is a Cronenberg film, I was kind of surprised that the two main characters didn't end up surgically grafted together at the penis... OH CHIT! SPOILER!
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Based on the novel Twins by Bari Wood and Jack Geasland, and loosely inspired by the lives of identical twins Stewart and Cyril Marcus. Dead Ringers is a mess; an unforgettable mess. This is the kind of film that wades in obscurity because it is too odd and experimental in substance for most audiences, but is embraced by dedicated film buffs for the very same reasons. David Cronenberg is, indeed, at his most bizarre; using tones, moods, and deftly developed atmosphere as narrative progression. Following the rise and fall of indentical twin gynecologists Elliot and Beverly Mantle, played dually by Jeremy Irons. Irons is magnificent, playing two characters who suffer from the pressures of at once needing their connection and…
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Berken's May 30 Days, 30 Countries Challenge Film nº 16 - Canada
Dead Ringers tells us the story of two twin brothers who share everything in life. They often impersonate each other so they can attend to each other patients or make love to a woman without anyone knowing it and tell them apart.
Although this film has a lot of body horror elements, which are common in other Cronenberg's works, the story main focus is psychological, as we follow the brothers trying to recover their own identities.
This really good and interesting script comes to life with a wonderful performance from Jeremy Irons, who plays the two brothers who are physically identical but have different personalities, which makes his acting complex but fantastic.
-
I'm a big fan of Cronenberg's body horror films but until now I had never really explored his other films and I'm immediately regretting doing so. Dead Ringers is disturbing but brilliant and helped along by a stunning Jeremy Irons performance.
What I found so intriguing about Dead Ringers is the differences between the two Mantle brothers. Despite looking exactly the same, they're complete opposites personality wise and this makes for some fascinating interaction when Bev, the reserved and shy brother, falls for Claire - one of Elliot's flings. Bev's weaknesses are exposed when Claire departs for a few weeks and the films direction takes a sharp turn into the world of depression and drug abuse and this is where…
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Movie #12 of Berkens 30 days, 30 countries challenge
Dead Ringers- Canada
I was suprised how "normal" this movie was in the beginning. Sure, there are some weird vibes, but the whole thing seemed to unfold according to movie drama law, with just a touch of oddness. At some point however, the movie just dives right into the madness and never lets go, to a point where I found it a bit hard to believe. The Cronenberg trademark strangeness set in, and with a bang. I am still not sure what it was all about, but it certainly was effective.
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doesn't get much better than that dance scene.
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A true descent into madness, but shared between identical twins. Now adays, having an actor play two roles and showing them both on screen at the same time is a normal occurence, but in 1988 this was ahead of its time. Irons acting is excellent as both the introvert and extrovert gynological brothers. They both have such creepy little nuances which stand out and make it for all the more real.
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If you are a fan of Jeremy Irons work, this is a must-see, he compells in every scene. Otherwise this might be a little long, but with a creepy ending.
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Another Croneneberg mind melter. I think he is slowly becoming my favorite director. I just find his films so odd, gruesome and off the wall that it makes me think about them constantly. Jeremy Irons gives a great double performance here, and the story seems pretty straight forward and then it turns into a Cronenberg special. I loved it and Im hoping it gets a Criterion Blu ray release in the near future.
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Over and over I kept hearing and reading how weird this movie is, how disturbing. How strange. Well, It’s Cronenberg, isn’t it? Of course it’s weird. Of course it’s horrific and disturbing. I expected it. But what I didn’t expect, never heard was how incredibly poignant it is, and how terribly sad. If you don’t focus on the creepfest, this film is heartbreaking.
Jeremy Irons is astounding. I can’t even fathom playing one character, and then shooting the other character in the same scene, and making them somewhat the same because they are identical twins, yet making them not the same because they are vastly different people. He does it very well.
I loved this movie. It’s brilliant.
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Given that this is a Cronenberg film, I was kind of surprised that the two main characters didn't end up surgically grafted together at the penis... OH CHIT! SPOILER!