Review of Dead Ringers (1988) by Dillinger P — 23 Jan 2016

Long before Tom Hardy and Armie Hammer were gracing the silver screen with their duel performances as conflicting brothers, Jeremy Irons was setting the bench mark for 2 characters played by one actor, it seems almost common place now, but during the 80's this was a close to untapped market and if it was touched upon, it wasn't executed with quite the same finesse.

Dead Ringers see's David Cronenberg haunting our dreams once again with a story of brotherly love. Beverley and Elliot Mantle dont just happen to be identical twins, they also happen to share the exact same profession as Gynecologists.

When a famous actor with a bizarre condition in her uterus comes to consult with Beverly, the brothers soon find themselves intertwined in a love triangle of exceedingly bizarre proportions. The fantasy cannot last forever and soon more than just their careers are at stake.

Jeremy Irons completely lights up the screen as both brothers, providing a dizzying, yet distinct performance as both. Each brother has their own qualities and indeed outlook on life, however its his ability to touch on the similarities and the differences, that makes this such a convincing and intriguing performance to watch.

This isnt just a vehicle for Mr Irons however, as with any Cronenberg movie, theme and indeed horror are always stuffed tightly within his tales, and although he does maneuver away from a blatant effect based horror, much like say Rabid or indeed Video Drome, he utilizes the horror from his leading star and their ability to use their bodies themselves as weapons.

Dead Ringers can at times be a comedy and its full of awkward, fun and indeed heart warming moments that will have any viewers eyeballs lighting up, however when Cronenberg takes it to the next level, its haunting and indeed pitch black outlook can at times be quite hard to take.

Dead Ringers is petrifying on a psychological level, it taps into some primal fears, it isnt afraid to go where it needs to and its bold outlook should be praised. Dead Ringers does have very little wrong with it, yes the visual execution, although in no way bad, has since been done a lot more inventively.

Also the films transitions through time can sometimes indeed be jarring, but these are all minor gripes, that in the big picture can be easily overlooked for just how riveting this film is. Dead Ringers will be a popular cult favorite and rightly so, however fans of cinema should really enjoy this brilliantly under rated masterpiece.