Movie Notes: Dead Ringers
= 4 stars
Starring Jeremy Irons, Genevieve Bujold
Directed by David Cronenberg
Synopsis
Twin gynecologists Beverly and Elliot (Jeremy Irons) exploit the fact that nobody can tell them apart.
The Good
- A mesmerizing performance by Jeremy Irons, who plays Beverly and Elliot with slight differences as their personalities require (Beverly is sensitive and “wimpier” while Elliot is more confident and arrogant) yet in keeping with the original premise that they’re hard to tell apart. Irons pulls this off by letting the barest hints of distinguishing emotions through essentially the same performance.
- A few, tantalizing moments of the expected Cronenberg nuttiness — disturbing gynecological instruments, drug use, a demented phone call, and a particularly disturbing dream — but overall, much less gore and spectacle in favor of character development, plot, and acting. Coming after my viewing of The Fly which I think went a bit too far with the gross stuff, I found this a good thing.
- One could go a bit further with the whole good / bad twin set-up, considering them two personalities of the same person, or how both halves are symbiotic and combine to create a whole.
The Bad
- The mistaken identity concept could have been exploited a bit further, maybe in a grand twist to fool the audience, or have Beverly take on Eliot’s role to gain revenge over his brother and win back Claire.
Conclusion
I’ve been rather on the fence regarding Cronenberg but this film convinced me he could get beyond shock and produce a straight-up drama. Combined with Irons’ subtle performance, it’s is a winning combination.
IMDB: Dead Ringers
Wikipedia: Dead Ringers
Rotten Tomatoes: Dead Ringers 83%