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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 29, 1988)
Reviews Jeremy Irons plays Dr. Beverly Mantle, whose strange relationship with his twin brother Elliot (also played by Irons) undergoes a terryifying transformation, in David Cronenberg’s “Dead Ringers.” "Dead Ringers" Starring jeremy Irons and Genevieve Bujold Directed by David Cronenberg Rated R ★★V2 Director David Cronenberg, known in the past for bloody science fiction/horror films such as “The Fly” and “Videodrome, ” tones down the gore in his latest movie, “Dead Ringers. ” But he also inadvertently tones down the suspense element in this psychological thriller. “Dead Ringers,” now playing at the Manor East Three theater, stars Jeremy Irons in a double role as Drs. Elliot and Beverly Mantle, twin brothers who run a gynecology clinic. The brothers live and work together, but differ on the surface in many ways. Elliot is outgoing and successful with women. Beverly is shy and studious; the hard worker of the two. One day, the brothers get a new patient: actress Claire Niveau (Genevieve Bujold). The two trade off having an affair with her. It’s some time before Claire discovers she has been having an affair with two men rather than one. Nevertheless, Beverly soon develops a close relationship with the drug-dependent Claire. As Beverly’s relationship with Claire progresses the relationship between the brothers begins to change. They soon question the strange ties between them, and wonder whether they are Siamese twins without the physical connection. At this point, the movie begins to drag. It starts off as a film with the potential to go in an interesting direction. But the script, written by Cronenberg and Norman Snider, does not move. The film does, however, contain some genuinely gripping scenes. For instance, a dream sequence in which Beverly dreams of Claire gnawing away at a fleshy mass connecting him to Elliot is well done. Cronenberg brings the viewer out of the nightmare, but unfortunately, reality is not too exciting here. Irons, outstanding as the Mantle brothers, gives a convincing portrayal of two different men. Bujold’s performs well as the woman who sets the conflict between the brothers into motion. However, a weakness in the material offsets the good performances. Not that this is a bad film; it’s just not what it could be. Review by Shane Hall Genevieve Bujold plays Claire, a beautiful actress who causes a change in the unusual relationship of the twin doctors in “Dead Ringers.” Twins Beverly and Elliot Mantle dance with Elliot’s girlf riend Cary, played by Heidi Von Palleske. VIDEO RENTALS MOVIES TO GO $1.00 MOVIES EVERYDAY |(NEW RELEASES AND GENERAL TITLES ALSO AVAILABLE)! JNOR EAST MALL (Texas at Villa Maria) 775-82761 AGGIE OWNED Thursday, Sept. 29,1988/At Ease/Page 5