Review of Three Identical Strangers (2018) by Oliver W — 04 Oct 2018

"Three Identical Strangers" is a documentary about identical triplet brothers who were separated at birth and who accidentally discovered one another in their late teens. There is little I can tell you about this movie without spoiling its many twists and turns. Just take my word: it is a superb documentary.

But let me warn you (as I was warned by previous reviewers) this is not a sugar-coated tale with a happy ending. Not by a long shot. Early on, the triplets' story turns dark. Then it gets darker. And just when you feel the story has reach its nadir ... well, darn it, it gets even darker. Yet do not let this deter you from watching this film. My fascination with the saga of the triplets mostly overrides its bleakness.

I do wish all human behavior researchers would watch "Three Identical Strangers" if only to reevaluate the ethical backbone of their own particular studies. I am one hundred percent pro-science. But the very success of the Scientific Method relies on transparency, peer review, and replication of findings. It is the Scientific Method that freed mankind from the shackles of the Dark Ages and the stupidity of superstition. Unfortunately, "Three Identical Strangers" clearly shows that vestiges of the Dark Ages still lurked in the America of the 1960s. Perhaps the roots of the Dark Ages will never be entirely extirpated. And that's the saddest story of all.