Dead Ringers
United States • 1988
Director
#21Criterion Collection →Synopsis
In DEAD RINGERS, David Cronenberg tells the chilling story of identical twin gynecologists—suave Elliot and sensitive Beverly, bipolar sides of one personality—who share the same practice, the same apartment, the same women. When a new patient, glamorous actress Claire Niveau, challenges their eerie bond, they descend into a whirlpool of sexual confusion, drugs, and madness. Jeremy Irons’s tour-de-force performance—as both twins—raises disturbing questions about the nature of personal identity.
Synopsis
In DEAD RINGERS, David Cronenberg tells the chilling story of identical twin gynecologists—suave Elliot and sensitive Beverly, bipolar sides of one personality—who share the same practice, the same apartment, the same women. When a new patient, glamorous actress Claire Niveau, challenges their eerie bond, they descend into a whirlpool of sexual confusion, drugs, and madness. Jeremy Irons’s tour-de-force performance—as both twins—raises disturbing questions about the nature of personal identity.
Credits
Crew
DirectorDavid Cronenberg
WriterNorman Snider, David Cronenberg
CinematographerPeter Suschitzky
ComposerHoward Shore
EditorRonald Sanders
ProducerDavid Cronenberg, Marc Boyman
Cast
Jeremy Ironsas Beverly Mantle / Elliot Mantle
Geneviève Bujoldas Claire Niveau
Heidi von Palleskeas Cary