Dead Ringers

Dead Ringers movie poster

Dead Ringers 
Released: 1988
Director: David Cronenberg
Screen Writers: David Cronenberg, Norman Snider
Lead Actors: Jeremy Irons, Genevieve Bujold, Heidi Von Palleske
Running Time: 116 min
Trailer:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xmheE3L19c
Source: Dead Ringers (1988) - IMDb

Film Review

Set in Toronto in the 1980s, the film captures the life of two gynecologist identical twins, bound together by their sense of a shared self. As young boys, the Mantle brothers thought, dressed, and acted alike; they even shared the same disturbed obsession with the female reproductive system. They grew up sharing lovers, their research, their clinic, and their apartment together to the extent that their identities were fused and they were "perceived as one person".  Bev and Ellie flawlessly pull off their shared persona until famous actress, Claire Niveau arrives at their fertility clinic for a diagnosis. Beverly begins to fall in love with her, so much so that he wants to keep the experience from Elliot. This creates a new  unique "self" that separates Bev from Ellie, which ultimately results in the death of their shared identity and physical bodies.

Representative of the films sinister themes, the lighting was dull and dreary. Neutral colours, like greys, whites, and soft undertones of blue were predominant in the film. This made a contrast of bright versus dull colours very noticeable whenever the set featured a vibrant colour. The dull neutral colours were representative of the sameness between Bev and Ellie, and how interchangeable the two characters were. The lighting was bright in moments where Bev was confronted by the unique self he was developing with Claire. For example, when Bev was with Claire in her apartment, the lighting was brighter and the colours of the set more distinct. One color that was used dramatically in the film was red. When they’re in the operating room, the uniform was red, when they were at the award gala, everyone was wearing neutral colours, except for a couple of ladies wearing red dresses. This colour is known to be associated with strength, power, determination as well as love, passion, desire and evokes erotic feelings (Color Wheel Pro - Red).

Similar to lighting, the sounds in the film were for the most part, basic and the music was eerie. Non-diegetic music played in moments where the twins' sameness was breached. For the most part, it was used to create a dramatic effect and draw greater attention to the scene. Diegetic sounds from character dialogue to dishes clinking in a restaurant represented what was shown on screen realistically, but was not really used for dramatic effect.

Beverly Mantle, Claire Niveau, Elliot Mantle.

The plot had some troubling aspects and holes to it. The film suggested that twins who experience exactly the same will be exactly the same psychologically. This is questionable as Elliot seems to be subtly more superior to Beverly. He is more composed and confident. So perhaps Beverly's uniqueness wasn't just brought about by Claire. Also troubling about the film was the fact that the characters in the movie, who are closest to the twins, can't tell them apart. Realistically speaking, this is highly unbelievable. 

The sets were not anything extravagant. Again colours were for the most part neutral, in the twins apartment, the clinic, and anywhere else such as the art gallery or the streets. The one exception seemed to be Claire's apartment where an array of colours were evident and props were more elegant. One of the more notable scenes was when Bev first performed surgery with his new radical tools. Everyone in the room was wearing the same red gowns which created a cult-like feel or that they were some kind of priests in an operating theatre of perversion. This represented the Mantle brothers' over the top psychic disintegration and their delusions of power in their abilities to cure female bodies of infertility.

At first glance, Beverly and Elliot are both physically and psychologically the same. Subtle differences later become noticeable at a closer look. Elliot is more confident and acts as the leader, while Beverly is more submissive to Elliot as well as self-conscious. They both have dry and serious personalities, seemingly unfeeling. However, Bev begins to show emotion when he gets involved with Claire. Her character represents the individuality that Bev begins to develop. While most women are shared by the brothers, she is only interested in Beverly and therefore Elliot doesn't have the same experience with her that Bev does, creating a divide. On the other hand, Cary's character represents the sameness between the twins. The experiences she offers are shared by both Bev and Ellie, supporting their sense of shared self.

The actors were well cast. Irons' capability to play two seemingly identical personalities, yet still portray their differences without flaw was incredible and made the film that much more convincing. Bujold and Von Palleske were also convincing in their roles to bring out the two "selves" that Beverly struggled with.

The film played off of the contrast between individuality and sameness. It also brought up the question of the self; can identical twins who are exposed to the same experiences be so symbiotically connected that it seems as if they share one self? It also portrays the serious subjects of female objectification and the "god-like" power of doctors in today's society.

The film's use of foreshadowing provided insight to the viewer that proved to be useful in understanding the plot as well as the complicated Mantle brother relationship. Their name itself revealed the responsibility passed from one person to another: the women as well as their devotion to each other (same self). It can also mean cloak, a metaphor for how they hide behind their identity as twins. The final scene was also hinted at when the brothers spoke about the original Siamese twins who died from separation. Beverly's uniqueness ultimately separated the brothers which caused the death of their shared self and then the death of their physical bodies.

In the first flashback, we can already see the different personalities between Bev and Elliot. We see that they’re interested in sex at already such a young age that usually don’t even know what sex is. You can tell that Elliot is the one who opens up the conversation and tells Bev about it. Also, when they see the little girl, Elliot is the one to ask her to have sex (as an experiment in a bath tub) with them. This initiating personality continued on into adulthood and Elliot claims that Bev would stills be a virgin if it wasn’t for him. At a young age, they were very weird, and different from the other children. They really only had each other and their perverted opinions of the female reproductive organs. 
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Course Connected Content

Dead Ringers successfully captures on film, many important subjects that highly influence today's society, as studied also in the course Knowing the Inner Self. 

Objectification proves to be a main running theme throughout the entire movie. The women, either patients or romantic partners, are constantly regarded to in such degrading manners. The brother's often define the woman's worth by her physical insides and thus her reproductive capabilities; as though we were still living in the stone age. On top of this, they see women as an outlet for sexual experimentation. This is seen at a young age when Ellie asked a neighboring girl to have sex with them- as an experiment- and then later when the older brother's shared women sexually, so to bring them closer.
 Following objectification, instrumentality also plays a leading role. According to our definition, it means to treat a person as a tool for the objectifier’s purposes. Towards the end of the film, when Bev is severely intoxicated on drugs, he uses his new radical tools he had made

Beverly about to preform radical surgery on a patient.

on a woman. He ended up mutilating her  just so he could try out his instruments. In this instance Beverly, the objectifier, treats his patient as an ever willing experimentation and "blank slate"  that he could play Operation on. 
The most important question in this film is that of the theory of "self". The movie suggests that the Mantle boys, who are identical biologically, and who have been exposed to the same experiences, must then share the same self. As defined in class, the self is a collaboration between the soul and consciousness, which are nurtured by both biological and experiential factors. Elliot's explanation to Bev that "[he hasn't] experienced something until [he has] too", serves as proof that the boys have the same self. They really act as one being, they share everything with each other because differences would pull them apart. 

Strengths & Weaknesses

Although the film was centered around disturbing themes of radical experimentation and objectification of women's genitals, it was overall extremely intriguing and insightful. Cronenberg's capability to capture both personalities through the work of one actor was inspiring. Dead Ringers is very strong in setting a mood via props, lighting, etc. to fit with its numerous disturbing themes. However, it proved to show weakness in the overall believably that it projected. The holes in the plot were troubling at times along with the gruesome images and references. 

All factors considered, this film deserves a rating of 4 out of 5 stars.

Additional Information

Manly, David. "Mirror Images: Twins and Identity." Scientific American Blog Network. N.p., 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2016. 

The above is a piece portraying the opinions (opposite from that of the film) on twins and unique vs. unified identities. It is extremely insightful and can help broaden ones understanding of the topics discussed in the film.

Shaw, Dan. "Dan Shaw: PSYCHOLOGICAL DETERMINISM IN DEAD RINGERS." Dan Shaw: PSYCHOLOGICAL DETERMINISM IN DEAD RINGERS. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2016. 

The above article provides additional insightful information about the psychology of various character's in Dead Ringers.

Questions

Is it truly reasonable for people closest to identical twins, such as family, friends, lovers, or colleagues, to not be able to tell the difference between them due to their seemingly - but not flawless- unified self?

When one twin flawlessly assumes and portrays the others identity, is it more likely that they are able to do so by reading the others mind - so to speak - or are they simply acting on their own preferences which just so happens to match one another due to their shared self?

In the movie, Elliot takes drugs in order to better understand Beverly's addiction. This way he believed that by first experiencing it for himself, he could then help Bev to overcome it. Do you believe that "living" something the only honest way to actually understand it and therefore offer insight and guidance? 

Work Cited

Dead Ringer. Dir. David Cronenberg. N.p., n.d. 1988. Film. 

"Dead Ringers (1988)." Imbd.com. Web. Oct. 23 2016.

"Color Meading: Red." The Color Wheel Pro. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.

Jenna Hammond & Sandy Axa