Review of Three Identical Strangers (2018) by Hector V — 22 Aug 2018

Three Identical Strangers kicks right off and never stops shedding new layers on its amazing story. What starts as a heartwarming little tale constantly evolves and weaves back through a thrilling conspiracy story that nevertheless stays close to the real people comprising it as Bobby Shafran and David Kellman, two of the separated triplets, provide a majority of the doc's commentary while several friends, family members, and other people close to the story fill in the gaps.

It doesn't hurt that everyone has a great sense of humor. All of the interviews are insightful and cover such a wide range one ends up feeling like an expert on the subjects quickly. The B-roll recreations spliced in between real footage and the interviews feel somewhat inauthentic to the excellent picture constructed out of everything else, but they're at least satisfactory.

While there seems to only be a limited amount of juice to be squeezed from the triplets' separation and convergence, another two fascinating threads help keep the doc going at a constantly steady pace. The tearjerking sucker-punches surrounding the mysteries of identical siblings that are tackled are equally intriguing, but to reveal anything more here directly would be an inexcusable shame.

Tim Wardle directs the doc with a perfect sense of pacing that never lets the film feel monotonous, overly saccharine, or get too dark. He and his editor, Michael Harte, spread out and cut between both stories out so seamlessly neither end drags. There's always something new to be found around the corner of each subsequent scenario, and just when one thinks the story is complete, new information one would never consider pops up and ends up being crucial to the full picture.

Once that picture is completed, though, the doc does drag a tiny bit for its last ten or so minutes. It's a minor complaint since the film already clocks in at a lean 96 minutes, but it does feel itself after the otherwise rapid pacing and weighty material covered previously.

Regardless of some nitpicks, Three Identical Strangers is easily one of 2018's best films, documentary or not. The doc has a heartwarming, tearjerking, and unbelievably fascinating narrative that'll give any feature film this year a run for its money.