Dead Ringers
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Movie Reviews of Dead Ringers
Movie Review: A change from David Cronenberg's usual fare, still great
Summary: 4 Stars
The Mantle Brothers are star surgeons, specializing in gynaecological disorders. They're also identical twins, two halves of one person. Together, they are a brilliant doctor. Apart, they are doomed. When a woman enters Beverley's life, drawing him away from his twin, their lives begin to deterioriate. David Cronenberg explores the identity of the individual and the twin in this horror-thriller that represents somewhat of a deviation from his usual style, with more drama and less of the physical grotesque. But the Mantle boys are monstrous, and that will be their downfall.
Movie Review: very creepy and disturbing movie
Summary: 4 Stars
This movie would have been nothing if not for the effective, nuanced acting skills of Jeremy Irons. He so convincingly portrays twin doctors (one sick, the other a whole lot sicker) that it brings an incredible life to this cerebral movie. It makes you really think about who a surgeoen is before he puts you to sleep an cuts you open. Like "The Shining", this movie improves with repeated viewings.
I'm a man. This movie should creep out women a lot more than men
Movie Review: eerie
Summary: 4 Stars
If its a well made, and truly disturbing move you desire, it would be hard to do better than Dead Ringers.Movie Review: A bit of a sick film with a great performance by Jeremy Irons
Summary: 3 Stars
Jeremy Irons has a penchant for playing bizarre sorts of men. He played Humbert Humbert in Adrian Lyne's Lolita (1997) and the creepy Dr. Claus Von Bulow in Reversal of Fortune (1990). Here he gets to play two creepy guys. One is named Beverly. Now I ask you, if you had twins boys and you named one of them Elliot and the other Beverly, what did you have in mind?
"Dead Ringer" is an old title. There are a number of movies by that name (IMDb lists four; this one of course is "Dead Ringers"), and clearly the titles suggest twins. Genevieve Bujold plays Claire Niveau, a celebrated actress who has a fertility problem and a great desire to have children. Elly and Bev are gynecologists who work with barren women in more ways than one. She becomes Elliot's or Beverly's patient. She has an extraordinary uterus, which they explore--I know, I know, this is pretty funny in a sick sort of way. The movie in fact is sort of sick but not funny--at least not intentionally. But it is interesting--appalling but interesting.
Anyway, Claire has the obligatory affair with both of them without realizing that there are two of them. They do the doctor thing with kinky sex and pills. At one point she begins to get the idea that Dr. Mantle is a bit--she calls him schizophrenic, which is, of course, for all you shrinks out there, a bit of a misnomer for what she means. Yes, one is nice and one is not so nice, one is slick with woman and the other isn't, one is commanding and the other isn't, and yes it gets more complex than that by quite a bit. They are like siamese twins joined with a long umbilical cord.
The problem for our boys, who have played this game with women many times before, is that Bev, who is always taking (you know what kind of) "seconds" actually falls in love with Claire. And she with him. And she knows the difference, once she finds out that there are two of them. And she is not pleased.
I've already perhaps said too much, but this is the setup, and it is familiar. How it works out is really the key to this movie. Irons is very good and so is Bujold of course. Both are professional actors with a lot of experience. Claire is a feisty kind of character, primitive in some ways, but ultra sophisticated in others. And very vulnerable, pathetically so it would seem. However, she is also strong. A nice contrast that gives Bujold ample range to show off her talent.
David Cronenberg, AKA "the King of Venereal Horror," directs. He has a history of serving up violence as a means of seducing the mass audience. Here he foreshadows something to come with something like forceps and other scary-looking steel instruments illustrated on the screen as the opening credits roll. Frankly I feel the pain and I don't even have a uterus.
I was able to watch until Bev, now a pill-popping menace, about 95 minutes in, grabs the surgical steel instruments that he designed for use on a "mutant woman's body," jabs them into his coat and pants pockets on his way to a rendevous with his beloved Claire, she of the triple uterus. That was enough. Knowing Cronenberg's love of blood-splattered violence, I ejected the DVD.
But you might, at your own risk, watch the ending. I've got a feeling that the title "Dead Ringers" involves a pun. You can send me a note telling me what happens. Or not. Preferably not.
Jeremy Irons gets to exceed the range of most actors even over their lifetime in this one film, and he does it very well. If you're a big Jeremy Irons fan, you wouldn't want to miss this. Otherwise, I suggest the Disney channel, quickly.
Movie Review: For a Limited Audience
Summary: 3 Stars
Last night was Halloween and I thought I would view "Dead Ringers", a recent purchase, to fit the occassion. Rather than being scared to death, I was bored to death but that doesn't adequately explain my reaction. In all fairness to the movie, as I was reading the liner notes, I didn't come across anything that suggested it as some sort of a horror movie. However, I got the impression that it was somewhat in a different dimension and I found that it certainly was.
My issue with "Dead Ringers" is that it offered me nothing, absolutely nothing. The two hours I spent watching this movie were two hours of my life that were wasted. I kept watching in hopes that something of note would develop. Ultimately, I just waited for it to end. The basic format had possibilities, to be sure. Mark Twain was fascinated with the subject of twins and did a lot with it. The creator of this movie seemed to be looking for the worst possible outcome of two identical twins who were alter egos as well as competitors. They did whatever they wanted with nobody to stop them. There was nothing about anybody in this movie that could be the least bit endearing.
I bought this movie because it had appeared in the "NY Times 1000 Greatest Movies of all Time". "Naked Lunch" was also on that list and I can see similarities. I saw that much was said about the roles that Jeremy Irons plays in "Dead Ringers". Frankly, I didn't notice anything special about his performance. It's been my observation that some roles are so unique that most any actor or actress can shine in the part. Maybe John Candy might not have done so well but I wasn't awed by Irons. The reviews are generally favorable on this one so maybe you can dimiss mine as an anomaly. However, I gained nothing from having seen "Dead Ringers". Don't say I didn't warn you.