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.
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