Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Sept. 29, 1988, edition 1 / Page 11
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OmnibusThursday, September 29, 19883 Cronenberg fails reputation with 'Dead Ringers' Dy JAKES DEAN StaffWriter With "The Ry " David Cronen berg got it right He atta'ned a level of critical and financial suc cess with a formula that he had developed over the years. The film had a good story, plenty of gra tuitous and repellent gore to satisfy his die-hard fans, and a terrific performance by Jeff Goldbium in the lead role. As with any great horror movie, the audience walked out swearing never to see the film again, but after a week or two felt a strange desire to return. The same could not be said of his new film, "Dead Ringers." The film contains only a few instances of the gore, of which Cronenberg has proved himself capable. The story Is thin and disappointingly unfocused. And the whole atmo sphere is rather perplexing. Only the Inspired casting of Jeremy Irons in the lead roles keeps the film from drowning in its own complexities. The plot centers around the lives of two identical male twins, Beverley and Eliot Mantle, who have made radical advances in the field of gynecology. They run their own highly successful clinic, and amuse themselves by swapping roles both inside and outside the clinic to the ignorance of their clients. It actually seems pretty good fun in the beginning. But just when It starts to become too much fun and too easy, Beverley has to go and fall in love. And from here, the story is one of slow and painful self-destruction. Throughout the film various plot lines arise and filter away. The object of Beverley's love, a fairly famous mini-series actress with an inclination for self-torment, is diagnosed as having a unique uterine deformity Gnvented by Cronenberg himself) that prevents her from having children. While addicted to drugs, Beverley devel ops a belief that if his medical toots hurt his patients, it is not the fault of the tools but of the patients. And there is a woman who makes herself quite willingly available to both twins at the same time. But all these potentially interesting and intriguing twists come to nothing in the end. Consequently, the film lacks tension and direction Cronenberg fails to develop any situation sufficiently, so that the audience is able to anticipate the narrative.! The fact that (except for one dream sequence) the film is largely bloodless should not affect the level of tension, but, in Cronen berg's case, it does, in trying so hard to refrain from any physical display of horror, he withdraws too far and denies the story its dramatic possibitties. instead, Cronenberg creates a series of painful, drawn-out images of human degradation which, while being horrific in themselves, fail to bring the audience any closer to a funda mental understanding of the characters. The film's saving grace is Irons, who puts in a performance that the film doesnt really deserve. He handles the task of playing both twins with considerable subtlety. it cannot have been easy playing two characters who spend most of the film interacting with each other. For the film to be a success at all requires the dual role to be both convincing and understated. in the wrong hands, the film would have been a disaster, irons estab lishes both characters clearly within the first 10 minutes (des pite some poor editing) and man ages to give the otherwise flawed plot a respectable sense of authenticity. The only other performance of note comes from Genevieve Bujold, who, frankly, can be for given for the inconsistencies of her WXVC Top 20 1. Jane's Addiction 2. fishbone 3. Let's Active 4. Feelies 5. John Hiatt 6. Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry 7. Folkways 8. Jad Fair and Kramer 9. Rose of Avalanche 10. Michelle Shocked 11. Siouxsie and the . Banshees 12. The Smiths 13. Dream Syndicate 14. My Dad is Dead 15. A.R. Kane 16. Tom Waits 17. Screaming Tribesmen 18. James 19. Colourblind James Experience 20. Billy Bragg Nothing Shocking Truth and Soul Every Dog Has His Day Only Life Slow Turning Nothing's Wrong A Vision Shared Roll Out the Barrel In Rock Short. Sharp, Shocked Peep Show Rank Ghost Stories Let's Skip the Details 69 Big Time Bones and Flowers Strip-Mine Colourblind James Experience Workers Playtime performance since her character is given no real direction or focus in the final analysis. On the film's side lies the tech nology that enables the twins to be played by the same actor so convincingly, irons talks to himself, eats with himself and even hugs himself, all in the same frame. What could so easily have become an awkward distraction is made to seem perfectly natural Cronen berg deserves much credit for this. It is lucky for the film that "Roger Rabbit" has already grabbed the gimmick stakes for the summer. With "Dead Ringers" Cronenberg has adapted his style to create a more subtle, contemplative mood. He leaves the real horrors in the minds of his characters. But in so doing he has sacrificed the essen tial qualities of his style that he knows bestand that he displayed so well in "The Ry." He is so busy shaping the atmosphere of the film that he has left out the main ingredients: a good story and the presence of tension. And it really is a pity. By shying away from everything that would have made the film interesting, Cronenberg will disappoint not only his fans, but also those who were hoping for something genuinely engrossing. He has not let the film live up to its potential, and has not let himself live up to his reputation. S I G O UR NET-WE A V E R She left everything she knew and entered a world few have ever seen. She risked her life to save a wondrous creature from the cruelty of man, and went further than anyone ever dared. Some say she went too far. . 'Uj - ) Wat. ' JW - i . -sjy S -Jr. j gt 'i : 4 1 -I I'i " i J '4, if ' Gorilla n TH 1 T TPlHn The Adventure of Dian Fossey MNERBBOS. nd UNIVERSAL PKTURES msm GUBERPETERS nooxvm m,AS?K ARNOLD GUMCKER SKXXJRNEYDHAVER miINTHEMlSTHEATNiuEQFDtANfosT E8SANE30VN JULIE HARRIS ""S STUART RAIRDiA.CE 'kmSSJOKNGRAYSMAEK nSJOHN'SEALE,A.CS. R1CKRAKER cMROBEKTmPfKESSIIR OtlGtKUl b MAURICE JARRE BPErERGUBERjONPETERS mSDLAJ) FOSSEY HAROIDIP.HAIES ANNA HAMHIDN ffiELANAw TAB MURPHY PGUhm sq-Nrmno on wca ivxm, cassettis and cdT READ THE HOUGHTON WFFUN BOOK NOW PLAYING IN SELECT AREAS. COMING SEPTEMBER 30th TO A THEATRE NEAR YOU 43
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Sept. 29, 1988, edition 1
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