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Dead Ringers centers around twins Beverly and Elliot Mantle, both played by Rachel Weisz, which instantly has me trying to spot the split-screen in any sort of programme or film, or moments where they could be played by other actors, with those having their back to the camera.
So far, I’ve seen the first two episodes, and it’s pretty much seamless, although the preview I saw was in standard definition, so it might be more clear in HD or 4K.
Still, about the content, and it’s based on partly on the novel, Twins (no, not the Arnie/Danny Devito film), written by Jack Geasland and Bari Wood, as well as the 1988 David Cronenberg film, which I saw at the time but haven’t done since. I remember it being okay, but I wasn’t massively sold on it.
We open with the pair eating in a cafe, and getting the come-on from a random man with some lurid sexual suggestions, before they give him the wind-up about how they’d like to do the business in front of him.
They both work in a hospital as gynecologists, but it does get graphic, and thus, a bit gory. The sisters are also very matter-of-fact as they do their job, with as much speed as if they’re flipping burgers. There was a warning with the preview about how gory it could get, but it was my choice to try to eat dinner while watching this. EEK! 😀
Given how they specialise in fertility problems, it’s safe to say that not every birth turns out well, although some outcomes can be rather distressing, and there’s some fascinating direction in how they get this across, but such scenes are not an easy watch.
The best thing about this is obviously Ms Weisz, giving distinct personalities to each of the two sisters. However, the direction and scripting of this – which keeps chopping and changing between scenes – feels rather all over the place, making it not particularly accessible or easy to get into. There’s also a huge amount of dialogue in this, some of it mumbled, and without subtitles on the preview, it got bogged down in conversations which didn’t seem to be going anywhere for a while.
One of these was at a dinner party, with Rebecca (Jennifer Ehle), from whom they want $16m of investment for a Birthing Centre, since the pair have managed to grow embryos in a lab – something highly illegal, even though it does solve the problem for women unable to carry a baby to term.
With Beverly the more conserved one, and Elliot being more gregarious and care-free, as an example of just how bizarre Rebecca’s friends are, they’re aghast at Elliot using plenty of profanity around the dinner table without thinking, yet this bunch show in a brief moment (thus, it’s not a spoiler), how they’re into trepanning – yes, they’ve drilled holes into their skulls… and they’re STILL trying to take the moral high ground?! Never mind Elliot’s f-words, this lot are completely nuts!
Then again, the two sisters aren’t the most sane individuals on the planet. There’s a fair few sex scenes, so Dead Ringers will be an 18-certificate, for sure, and what I’ve seen so far gets across just how much of an emotionally manipulative couple of individuals they are.
I like how episode 1 ends with Celine Dion’s Think Twice, given the twins theme of this drama, but I’ll see what the overall reaction is to this before considering watching more, as I’m not too fussed about that prospect.
Thanks to our friends at Prime Video for the screener prior to release.
Dead Ringers is on Prime Video from Friday April 21st. All six episodes are available on day one.
You can also buy the novel in Paperback and Hardback.
NOTE:
Trailer posted April 18th 1:00
Updated with spoiler-free review of episode 1 and 2: April 20th 11:00
Cert: 
Running time: 45-60 minutes per episode (6 episodes)
Release date: April 21st 2023
Studio: Prime Video
Format: 2.39:1
Series Directors: Sean Durkin, Lauren Wolkstein, Karena Evans, Karyn Kusama
Producer: Eric Pascarelli
Creator for TV: Alice Birch
Writers: Miriam Battye, Alice Birch, Lileana Blain-Cruz, Rachel De-Lahay, Ming Peiffer, Susan Soon He Stanton
Novel “Twins” by: Jack Geasland, Bari Wood
Music: Murray Gold
Cast:
Beverly Mantle / Elliot Mantle: Rachel Weisz
Genevieve: Britne Oldford
Greta: Poppy Liu
Tom: Michael Chernus
Beverly: Kitty Hawthorne
Rebecca: Jennifer Ehle
Susan: Emily Meade
Joseph: Jeremy Shamos
Heather: Natalie Woolams-Torres
Linda: Suzanne Bertish
Lenka: Liza Fernandez
Group Leader: Andrew Garman
Agnes: Susan Blommaert
Silas Jordan: Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine
Sasha: Maryann Urbano
Larry: Kevin Anton
Mr. Leung: Geoff Lee
Marion: Michael McKean
Alan: Kevin McNally
Gwen: Nadia Bowers
Anarcha: Brittany Bradford
Young Alan: Brandon Bassir
Nick: Tony Crane
Jeremy: Aaron Dean Eisenberg
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.