Thursday, July 17, 2014

Dead Ringers 1988


Dead Ringers


     This film is loosely based on facts. The Mantle brothers are twins and they are both gynecologists in Toronto.  They look exactly alike but they are different in personality, temperament and medical expertise.  Elliot is the dominant twin, confident, good at public speaking and a ladies man.  Beverly is more reserved and better at working with the patients.  Elliot meets Claire Niveau, she is an actress and he thinks Beverly would like her more.  Beverly and Claire become very close but she likes to take drugs and Beverly begins to take them too.  Claire leaves for an acting role and Beverly starts to fall apart without her.  Elliot continues with his part of their exclusive practice and he doesn’t realize how disturbed Beverly has become.
     This is a very different and slightly eerie film with a cold, detached style and Irons playing both roles of the twins with differences in their hair to tell them apart.  Claire shakes everything up in their very well tailored life.  Since Beverly is the one who is repressed, changes affect him first and the worst.  Elliot wants everything to remain the same for their lives and their medical practice.  The music sets you up to thinks you will see something really terrible but the film is visually controlled without special effects.  3* (This movie is OK) 

116 min, Drama directed by David Cronenberg with Jeremy Irons, Genevieve Bujold, Heidi von Palleske, Barbara Gordon, Shirley Douglas, Stephen Lack, Nick Nichols, Lynne Cormack, Damir Andrei, Miriam Newhouse.

Note:  Imdb 7.4 out of 10, 83% critic 83% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2 ½*.





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