Clevercell Very disappointing...

VividSimon Simply Perfect

Inadvands Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

dissident320 It's an interesting story of twin doctors played by Jeremy Irons. They do some impressive technical things to have him play 2 characters in the same scene. Everyone's performance was convincing as well. I think emotionally it fell a little flat for me. When the story starts to get a bit more out there and intense, I started to feel bored. I never felt like they connected the emotional dots to really justify a descent into madness. It's an okay movie but Cronenberg has done better.

moonspinner55 Director David Cronenberg also co-wrote with Norman Snider this adaptation of Bari Wood and Jack Geasland's novel "Twins" about identical twin brothers--acclaimed gynecologists, one an introvert, the other an extrovert--who switch off in their sexual relationship with a movie star client without telling her they're siblings. She's disgusted when she finds out their game, but eventually relents and begins falling for the more gentle of the two. Jeremy Irons does double duty here and, although he's a fine actor, it's too much of a good thing. Individual scenes with Irons and Genevieve Bujold (at the top of her game) are dramatically exciting. Cronenberg has excelled over the years with actors: he earns their trust and elicits uncanny moments of truth in their performances. But Cronenberg also has a nasty side; he likes to get ugly, and he likes his players to get dirty, so that there's always an undercurrent of kink and queasiness in his work. Here, the off-putting elements of either his screenplay or his visual concept take over and derail an interesting premise. Bujold's actress relents and is interested in knowing both brothers, but soon we don't know which is which, either. Irons has said the whole point of the film is in not knowing which brother you are watching. That's a clever concept to sell the picture with but it doesn't work for the movie--which is a psychological thriller, not a whodunit. *1/2 from ****

jwiley-86292 The more I think about this film, the more fond I am of it. Much like Closet Land, it sounds more like something I'd wish would be made rather than a real film. If you're content to stare at Jeremy Irons' face for two hours, this is for you. The characters of the twins are juicy indeed: Beverly is the woobie you could take home to mother, while Elliott is. . . Patrick Bateman. Dead Ringers kept reminding me of American Psycho, which is a compliment, as I love that film too. From the artificial late-eighties production design to Elliott's haircut, I wouldn't be surprised if this film informed many of the artistic decisions for American Psycho.Irons should have received his Oscar for this. The clear distinctiveness of each twin is downright eerie, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out how they made both of him appear on screen simultaneously. I have to give props to anyone who pulls off effects that look real. One review on this page postulates that Dead Ringers is hard for women to watch because of the mysterious mutilating devices. I can testify that I, at least, wasn't off-put except when one of the twins (you're not sure who is who at that point) mutilates the other. You'll better understand what Cronenberg is going for if you know it's supposed to be a horror movie. There is still definite eroticism throughout, at least in my opinion. Sick depraved things are often erotic. The weak link is the character of Claire, whose delivery I thought was too brusque and bleak. But I am very happy to have discovered this film. It is not for everyone, though.

Uriah43 This movie is about two identical twins named "Elliott Mantle" and his brother "Beverly Mantle" (both played by Jeremy Irons) who have shared an interest in medicine all of their lives. But that's not all they share as the slightly older twin, Elliott, is less shy and typically initiates a sexual relationship with a woman and then when he gets tired of her passes her off to Beverly who takes it from there. Although this has worked like a charm for years, one day Elliott just so happens to hand a woman named "Claire Niveau" (Genevieve Bujold) to Beverly who then falls deeply in love with her. To make matters worse, when Claire finds out what has happened she gets angry with both brothers which throws Beverly into an emotional tailspin that results in dramatic consequences for everyone involved. Now from what I understand this movie has apparently garnered both critical and popular approval. That's fine. However, rather than following the proverbial crowd I happen to demur from the overall consensus as I found this movie to be a bit too dark and dreary for my tastes. Admittedly, Jeremy Irons performed in an excellent manner and he deserves whatever praise is offered. But even so I still thought the movie was too slow and boring and as a result I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.