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Geneviève Bujold, Jeremy Irons, Heidi von Palleske

The Mantle brothers are both doctors - both gynecologists - and identical twins. Mentally however, one of them is more confident than the other, and always manages to seduce the women he meets. When h...( read more  read more... )e's tired of his current partner, she is passed on to the other brother - without her knowing. Everything runs smoothly, until an actress visits their clinic, and the shy brother is the first to fall in love. Will they be able to 'share' her ?

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81% liked it

16,891 ratings

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83% liked it

35 critics

R, 1 hr. 55 min.

Directed by: David Cronenberg

Release Date: September 23, 1988

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DVD Release Date: January 27, 1998

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Flixster Reviews (888)

  • ebs90
    October 6, 2009
    ebs90

    Proper review at last!


    Jeremy Irons plays both Eliot and Beverly Mantle, two gynecologists who are identical twins. They are a curious, disturbing mixture of scientific and sexual inquisitors, ever since their childhood. Their research and development of gynecological

    ...( read more)instruments earns them fame and recognition since their college years, and the story begins to unfold once they are an established team. Beverly, the shy, insecure one, is the main practicing doctor and also does most of the research, while Eliot takes care of "public relations", writing acceptance speeches, etc.

    Eliot is the charming, assertive twin. He and Beverly have a rather unhealthy relationship, as if they couldn't really see the difference between one another (for as obvious as we find it). When Eliot sleeps with a woman, he will "pass it over" to Beverly so that he can do it too; after all, she won't be able to tell the difference. This is the dynamic in their lives. Eliot is perfectly content with it, although Beverly's uneasiness is obvious from the first moment. Everything changes when a mini-series actress, the tortured Claire Niveau (an aggresively sexual, quintessential Cronenberg woman), turns to the Mantle brother for an examination. Beverly discovers a rare defect in her uterus, which entices a disturbing fascination. The brothers "pass her around" as usual, but Beverly gets more hooked than Eliot is prepared to accept.


    Claire acts as a catalyst for the individualization of the twins. Beverly is in love with her, while Eliot isn't, and he doesn't want to share or give her up. He unconsciously becomes aware of the unhealthy co-dependence between he and his brother, and how menacing it can be for his future life, which pushes him into a whirlpool of obssession, paranoia, and drug abuse. Eliot tries uselessly to save him, in an attempt to save himself. But soon, without explanation, it seems as though he experiences his brother's pain as his own.


    Dead Ringers is one of the saddest, darkest films I've seen. It's just how everything happens. It isn't forced. It doesn't rely on supernatural elements or killers, but the terrifying distortions of the characters' minds and bodies: something much more internal, inaccessible, harder to understand or fix. Watching it is like watching a car crash or staring into a dark pit. It has the stamp of David Cronenberg all over it, from the use of strong, bright primary colors to the Howard Shore score, the disgusting body abnormalities and makeup, the eerie credibility of the blood, and, most importantly, the thorough characterization. The Mantle twins and Claire are strange people, caught up in their pyschosexual and drug conflicts, but never become caricatures. Their pain is tangible and believable.


    Dead Ringers' success or failure rested aboslutely on the shoulders of the actor playing the twins, and Jeremy Irons is as good as it gets. He takes on these complex, emotionally draining, tortured roles with transparence and exhausting intensity. I personally felt so exhausted watching Beverly spiral further and further downwards in self-destruction. Still, his performance is subtle enough not to to differentiate the twins obviously: he understood their similarities (which are the basis of their unhealthy relationship) and didn't compromise them for the sake of making the film easier to follow. He interacted perfectly with "himself", there is never a single defect in his stare or gestures. Also, it is possible to tell the twin aparts successfully after some observation,and this only further proves his expertise.


    Anxious and uncomfortable pretty much define this film: Beverly and Eliot's anxiety of separation, which ultimately brings on their demise, the anxiety that begins to de-humanize them, or rather to alter them in such a way that they lose any notion of civility or tact. As a woman I was horrified not only by their instruments to work on "mutant women", but by the brutality with which they treated their patients after their crisis.


    Dead Ringers is one of the most fascinating films that I can rank as my favorites. It's unapologetically bizarre but still vaguely plausible. Cronenberg proves that defects in such notions as sexuality and identity can be a thousand times more terrifying than a house full of ghosts. He takes on fear of the intangible in a stylish manner, supported by the brilliance of Jeremy Iron's work.
  • evillincoln
    July 31, 2009
    evillincoln
    Jeremy Irons can stay the hell away from my vagina.
  • DrBenway
    May 25, 2009
    DrBenway
    Seeing this again, I'm reminded of a "must-see" performance by Jeremy Irons who can be cold, sleazy, threatening, charming, sympathetic and without the "absolute of good and evil" leaving the audience to decide. The other star of the film is the camerawork with solid direction f...( read more)rom Cronenberg. Of course, there's the sex. It's a Cronenberg film after all, so sexuality is a given topic along with his staple of distrust when it comes to medical science. Subtle, darkly humorous and horrifying in depicting the onset of mental illness in two twins at once.

    I don't have a vagina, but if I did this movie might have given me shivers. (Not the Cronenberg film)
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  • kiriyamakazou
    April 10, 2009
    kiriyamakazou
    Irons gives two excellent performances as identical twins in Cronenberg's excellent tale of identity and brotherly love. Irons and Irons use their looks to share women, make their job easier and so forth. It's a wonderful setup until a woman arrives that one of them has strong fe...( read more)elings for. Cronenberg puts his twisted mind on hold for the majority of the film. In visuals at least, the themes are all still dark and unsettling. Closer towards the end they appear and are all the more memorable and disturbing due to their late arrival. Irons deserves so much credit for clearly defining each character without making them polar opposites.
  • pier007
    February 21, 2009
    pier007
    Twins Elliot and Beverly Mantle are two sides of the same coin, one over confident and suave, and the other shy and sensitive. they are both brilliant in the field they chose, gynecology. But they can't function properly if a third party gets in their way.
    One of Cronenberg's bes...( read more)t films. A succesful attempt to transcend his carnal phase for a more psychological one.
    A morbid yet moving drama in which Jeremy Irons shines in an outstanding double role.
  • BillyRevenge
    November 22, 2009
    BillyRevenge
    This is a very good watch. Not my favourite Cronenberg movie, but definitely worth checking out.
  • paulanthonynelson
    November 19, 2009
    paulanthonynelson
    Cronenberg's identical twin anxiety fable is always perverse, poignant... and sometimes perplexing, even baffling, before coming to a sublime, melancholy conclusion. Jeremy Irons is amazing and fearless as the twins, and the twinning FX are practically seamless.
  • princessqtpl
    November 15, 2009
    princessqtpl
    Sick and severely twisted, its David Cronenberg at his best.
  • HughJackman
    October 8, 2009
    HughJackman
    I want to see this movie but then agin I don't like scary movies I only wasnt to see it cuz I saw a bit of it and jeremy irons dose some great acting
  • BEACHBUNNI
    September 22, 2009
    BEACHBUNNI
    not a "fun" movie but the sort of movie that makes you want to keep watching loved jeremy irons in this one he played a superb performance in his double role quite "creepy" at times!

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Critic Reviews

January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The kind of movie where you ask people how they liked it, and they say, 'Well, it was well made,' and then they wince. full review

View more Dead Ringers reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments

  • MorpheusOne
    September 19, 2007
    MorpheusOne
    This movie was a HUGE disappointment, especially since I saw it in a movie theater. What a waste! And the ending is nothing short of absolutely stupid!
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Dead Ringers Trivia

  • In which film does Jeremy Irons play twin doctors?  Answer »
  • In Dead Ringers, what sort of doctor is Jeremy Irons?  Answer »
  • what connects the movies raising cain, dead ringers and the man in the iron mask?  Answer »
  • This David Cronenburg film is about twin gynecologists and the woman they love, played by Geneveive Bujold.   Answer »
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