Dead Ringers - Will's Review

Jeremy Irons stars as twin genius gynaecologists (female fertility specialists, to be exact) who share everything; including women. When younger, quieter, twin Beverly falls in love with their latest conquest, trouble brews between himself and the more confident Elliot, and they spiral into schizophrenia and drug dependency.

Once again I'm left wondering what this weeks movie is doing on a list of horror movies; for the first 80 minutes of its 115 minute runtime this is a straight up drama, and even after that point it barely makes it into thriller territory, and it certainly never crosses into horror. Indeed, for most of its runtime it came across as a (very well made) racy version of one of those TV movies that you see on 'movies 24' or 'true movies'. I mention true movies, as this film is loosely based on a true story.

So, unsuitability for a horror site aside, is the movie any good?

Well, it looks great, Cronenberg is a great director, and Irons is superb as the twins, like really good; you can tell witch twin is witch at all times just by his body language, facial expressions, and the way he holds himself. In fact, all of the performances are great.

Sadly, the film is entirely too long, about the time the thriller elements kicked in, I found my attention drifting; whether this is a matter of timing, or if those elements didn't quite gel I quite quite decide, I suspect a little of both.






Almost, but not quite, worth seeing for Iron's acting alone, there's little else to recommend, although nothing to really slate either. Ultimately, it's just a little too forgettable.