Dead Ringers Review
Digging through my pile of unwatched DVDs I came across this movie from David Cronenberg, one of my favourite directors of all time. HERE WE GO
Dead Ringers is the tale of the Mantle twins, Elliot and Beverly, a pair of gynaecologist brothers who share everything, including women. The pair pair have built a reputation as the best in their field, but everything begins to unravel when Bev starts falling for one of their conquests, a former patient and beautiful actress. Slowly he becomes obsessed with her and begins becoming involved with her drug habit...
The first thing that needs to be mentioned about this movie is Jeremy Irons central performances as the twins themselves. He manages to infuse the two roles with enough individuality that you are never at a loss as to which twin is on screen with Elliot the brash, off-hand brother and Bev the sensitive soul. As the movie progresses and the characters devolve his performance takes on a terrifying other dimension of a man (men) losing their grip on reality. Absolutely riveting.
Cronenberg is known as a master of body-horror and that is definitely apparent here, though no-where near as graphic as 'The Fly' or 'Videodrome', he still manages to make you squirm in your seat with the mere thought of what is happening just off camera. On top of this, there is a layer of psychological horror apparent here that is more prevalent in Cronenberg's more recent work such as 'A History of Violence'.
It's clear to me that Cronenberg's intention with this movie was to force the audience to question authority figures. Why do we deify these doctors? The twin's surgical scrubs even resemble monk's robes. By showing us the vulnerabilities of these men, Cronenberg is telling us that no matter what, men in positions of power (be it doctors or religious leaders) are just that; men. And these men are just as capable of abuses of power and evil as the rest of us.
A recommended watch, it starts off a little slowly but is ultimately worth the time taken establishing the characters.
The first thing that needs to be mentioned about this movie is Jeremy Irons central performances as the twins themselves. He manages to infuse the two roles with enough individuality that you are never at a loss as to which twin is on screen with Elliot the brash, off-hand brother and Bev the sensitive soul. As the movie progresses and the characters devolve his performance takes on a terrifying other dimension of a man (men) losing their grip on reality. Absolutely riveting.
Cronenberg is known as a master of body-horror and that is definitely apparent here, though no-where near as graphic as 'The Fly' or 'Videodrome', he still manages to make you squirm in your seat with the mere thought of what is happening just off camera. On top of this, there is a layer of psychological horror apparent here that is more prevalent in Cronenberg's more recent work such as 'A History of Violence'.
It's clear to me that Cronenberg's intention with this movie was to force the audience to question authority figures. Why do we deify these doctors? The twin's surgical scrubs even resemble monk's robes. By showing us the vulnerabilities of these men, Cronenberg is telling us that no matter what, men in positions of power (be it doctors or religious leaders) are just that; men. And these men are just as capable of abuses of power and evil as the rest of us.
A recommended watch, it starts off a little slowly but is ultimately worth the time taken establishing the characters.
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