esrosedotblog

TWINS

I am not sure why
Dead Ringers (1988) is one of the NYTimes 1176 Best Films.

It could be that Jeremy Iron's performance as the identical twins is carried out with meticulous detail so that we are always aware of which one he is playing.

It could be the terrific special effects that are used to carry off the dual scenes.

It might be because of the 'true-crime-story' base for the script. Could these guys have really pulled this off?

Dunno.

I am not even sure why I was glued to it.

The answer must be in the hands of the director David Cronenberg. He carefully builds the story to a walloping finish and when the film is done, we are limp.

But that still does not make it a great film. It is OK. An unusual horror flick along the lines of Frankenstein, if there were two doctors; a bit of Alien; a lot of clinical obstetric detail.

It is a stunt. Irons has to do back-flips and the cinematography is seamless. I was only occasionally aware of the 'trick' and only in a 'gee whiz look at that' kind of way. Still, it is distracting.

Oh. Genevieve Bujold is in this film. She is pivotal in that she introduces one of the twins to drugs. She has some sorta kinda kinky sex scenes to play.

Otherwise she is a benign presence that is under utilized. She is great to watch.

I will give it a 3 out of Netflix5 because of Jeremy and the clever effects. And Bujold.

I suppose I could give it a 4. I just think it is kinda nasty and I didn't actually LIKE it that much. Or them. Just her. I guess that is all preference and not related to the quality of the film itself. Personal bias. Oh well.