When I first saw "Dead Ringers", I was about twelve years old. All I can say about that first viewing is that it really gave me shivers...years later (five days ago), I got the Criterion DVD by mail, which I ordered from Ebay. I watched it and was really disturbed. Then, I listened to the audio commentary by the director, David Cronenberg, which also directed pretty great films such as "Crash", "Naked Lunch", and "eXistenZ". The commentary itself is worth the DVD's price (even though it can be hard to find because it is out of print). It really helps understanding Cronenberg's vision of every scene, and believe me, he brings many nuances and psychological details, even though Jeremy Irons' acting is awesome and really eloquent and meaningful.
The film is about two twins, Elliott and Beverly (both played by the fantastic Jeremy Irons) who are gynecologists and discover that some women suffer from mutations in their uterus. Besides their work, these two twins are pretty much the same person...at least, on the outside (they live in the same apartment, they have the same job, they even share the same women!)...on the inside, it's different, and that's what we discover when the disturbing mind of Beverly unfolds before our eyes and hearts.
Cronenberg is ambitious. Like he said, most of the films that feature twins are comedies or thrillers in which one of the twins is good and fights his evil brother. He takes a very different approach and focuses on the complexes and psychological flaws that having a twin could create. Personally, if I had a twin and saw this film, it would completely change my life. This film goes deep. From the introduction where you see them when they're just young boys to the heartbreaking and disturbing ending, you see Elliott, the one that gets the honors, the one that had a lot of women in his life, the one that manipulates people, the one that is strong, briefly said. In the other hand, you've got Beverly, the drug addict, the one that gets his first real relationship, the one that somehow follows his brother, without ever being "number one". Cronenberg exploits this complex trouble and analyzes the competition that can occur between twins, the incredibly fundamental union between the two brothers. Also, Cronenberg shows us Beverly turning completely insane, and explores the very deep faces of his deranged mind.
Cronenberg is a good director, saying the opposite would be a lie. This film probably isn't considered his best, but in my opinion, it is, or at least, it is equal to his best films. His directing is creepy and moody, while not very slow-paced. He really delivers a disturbing and terrifying film, with such a deep exploration of the mind.
The acting is exceptional, especially from Jeremy Irons. I mean, these roles were not easy at all, and he plays two at the same time...in many scenes he has to talk to himself, and he uses completely different and appropriate facial expressions and tones for every line one of the twins says, without ever exaggerating. When I was twelve, I didn't know this actor, and I would have never been able to tell you there was only one actor playing these two. Genevieve Bujold is good, not perfect, but good enough. But Irons is really a great actor.
Many sequences of this film are haunting, especially the dream sequence, which is obviously very symbolic, but also very intense. The whole scenes in which Beverly falls into insanity are handled with genius by Cronenberg and Irons. Also, the scene where Elliott dances with his girlfriend and invites his brother to dance with them. It shows how influential and "seductive" Elliott is to his twin. The music is haunting too. It is beautiful and scary and really fits with the atmosphere of the film.
Overall, Cronenberg made a beautiful yet extremely disturbing study of the twins phenomenon and the psychological impact on them. Also, he put in images the idea he has about the link between them. With Irons as the twins, he made a very good film, that I would describe as touching, disturbing, haunting, beautiful, complex, deep, psychological, and finally, great.
9/10
The film is about two twins, Elliott and Beverly (both played by the fantastic Jeremy Irons) who are gynecologists and discover that some women suffer from mutations in their uterus. Besides their work, these two twins are pretty much the same person...at least, on the outside (they live in the same apartment, they have the same job, they even share the same women!)...on the inside, it's different, and that's what we discover when the disturbing mind of Beverly unfolds before our eyes and hearts.
Cronenberg is ambitious. Like he said, most of the films that feature twins are comedies or thrillers in which one of the twins is good and fights his evil brother. He takes a very different approach and focuses on the complexes and psychological flaws that having a twin could create. Personally, if I had a twin and saw this film, it would completely change my life. This film goes deep. From the introduction where you see them when they're just young boys to the heartbreaking and disturbing ending, you see Elliott, the one that gets the honors, the one that had a lot of women in his life, the one that manipulates people, the one that is strong, briefly said. In the other hand, you've got Beverly, the drug addict, the one that gets his first real relationship, the one that somehow follows his brother, without ever being "number one". Cronenberg exploits this complex trouble and analyzes the competition that can occur between twins, the incredibly fundamental union between the two brothers. Also, Cronenberg shows us Beverly turning completely insane, and explores the very deep faces of his deranged mind.
Cronenberg is a good director, saying the opposite would be a lie. This film probably isn't considered his best, but in my opinion, it is, or at least, it is equal to his best films. His directing is creepy and moody, while not very slow-paced. He really delivers a disturbing and terrifying film, with such a deep exploration of the mind.
The acting is exceptional, especially from Jeremy Irons. I mean, these roles were not easy at all, and he plays two at the same time...in many scenes he has to talk to himself, and he uses completely different and appropriate facial expressions and tones for every line one of the twins says, without ever exaggerating. When I was twelve, I didn't know this actor, and I would have never been able to tell you there was only one actor playing these two. Genevieve Bujold is good, not perfect, but good enough. But Irons is really a great actor.
Many sequences of this film are haunting, especially the dream sequence, which is obviously very symbolic, but also very intense. The whole scenes in which Beverly falls into insanity are handled with genius by Cronenberg and Irons. Also, the scene where Elliott dances with his girlfriend and invites his brother to dance with them. It shows how influential and "seductive" Elliott is to his twin. The music is haunting too. It is beautiful and scary and really fits with the atmosphere of the film.
Overall, Cronenberg made a beautiful yet extremely disturbing study of the twins phenomenon and the psychological impact on them. Also, he put in images the idea he has about the link between them. With Irons as the twins, he made a very good film, that I would describe as touching, disturbing, haunting, beautiful, complex, deep, psychological, and finally, great.
9/10