Dead Ringers (1988)

Director:

David Cronenberg

Writers:

Bari Wood (book) and
Jack Geasland (book) ...

Release Date:

23 September 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Two bodies. Two minds. One soul. Separation can be a terrifying thing.

Plot:

Twin gynecologists take full advantage of the fact that nobody can tell them apart, until their relationship begins to deteriorate over a woman.

Plot Keywords:

Gynecologist | Twin | Doctor | Identical Twins | Actress

Awards:

20 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Jeremy Irons	...	Beverly Mantle / Elliot Mantle
Geneviève Bujold	...	Claire Niveau (as Genevieve Bujold)
Heidi von Palleske	...	Cary (as Heidi Von Palleske)
Barbara Gordon	...	Danuta
Shirley Douglas	...	Laura
Stephen Lack	...	Anders Wolleck
Nick Nichols	...	Leo
Lynne Cormack	...	Arlene
Damir Andrei	...	Birchall
Miriam Newhouse	...	Mrs. Bookman
David Hughes	...	Superintendent
Richard W. Farrell	...	Dean of Medicine (as Richard Farrell)
Warren Davis	...	Anatomy Class Supervisor
Jonathan Haley	...	Beverly, Age 9
Nicholas Haley	...	Elliot, Age 9

Also Known As:

Alter ego (Canada: French title)
Gemini (Canada: English title) (working title)
Twins (Canada: English title) (working title)
Die Unzertrennlichen (West Germany) [de]
Dubbelgångare (Sweden) [sv]
Erottamattomat (Finland) [fi]
Faux-semblants (France) [fr]
Inseparabili (Italy) [it]
Inseparables (Spain) [es]
Irmãos Inseparáveis (Portugal) [pt]
Kobni blizanci (Serbia) [sr]
Nierozlaczni (Poland) [pl]
Oi dihasmenoi (Greece) [el]
Oskiljaktiga (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Una vez en la vida (Mexico) (cable TV title) [es]

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Portugal:M/16 | Iceland:16 | Italy:VM14 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | South Korea:18

Filming Locations:

Bell Trinity Square - 483 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Mantle Clinic II

Trivia:

Margot Kidder was David Cronenberg's second choice for playing the role of Claire Niveau.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In a scene dated 1954, the twins seen are playing with The Visible Woman, Revell toy company's biological model of a woman that was not marketed until at least five years later.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Elliot, Age 9: You've heard about sex...
Beverly, Age 9: Sure I have.
Elliot, Age 9: Well I've discovered why sex is.
Beverly, Age 9: You have? Fantastic.
Raffaella: It's because humans don't live under water.
Beverly, Age 9: I don't get it.
Elliot, Age 9: Well, fish don't need sex because they just lay the eggs and fertilize them in the water. Humans can't do that because they don't live in the water. They have to - internalize the water. Therefore we have sex.
Beverly, Age 9: So you mean humans would have sex if they lived in the water?
Elliot, Age 9: Well they'd have a kind of sex. The kind where you wouldn't have to touch each other.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Lightning Bug (2004)

Soundtrack:

In the Still of the Night (I'll Remember)

Gold instrument intrudes your soul

To date, Cronenberg's deepest film.

Jeremy Irons summons a performance of profound complexity, to pull off a double-act so credible that your feelings are divided, twin egg-like, between two characters. The polar-opposite attraction/repulsion of each brother's personality shines through in his every scene - to flesh out two characters so distant yet so deeply intimate, and do it so convincingly, requires more than acting, and this is by far his finest moment.

I can't say any more about this film other than that seeing it is a life-enhancing experience. Anyone who has ever taken potent substances with a close friend, as a kind of emotional rite, will be moved beyond words by the twins' climactic scene.

Never mind the detractors who say it's cold and clinical and abusive - they just don't understand it. There is love, warmth and beauty in abundance in this film - a horror film? A psychological thriller? A love story? Don't try and give it a name and place, it's just an essential part of understanding us: as adults; as children; as weird, fathomless organisms.