Dead Ringers (TV Series) One (2023) User Reviews

Interesting alternative take

[KarinStrata · 8/10 · 7 May 2023]

I'm a huge Cronenberg fan, and I love the original. But this remake takes a completely novel stance: it shifts the perspective by changing the gender of the protagonasts, thereby changing the whole narrative. While the story is still told by way of the twins, this time they are twin female gynaecologists, and that changes everything.

Motherhood and pregnancies are no longer an abstract medical issue for aloof specialists; those matters become quite personal, while simultaneously being embedded in a social context. Hence, the original story is changed from a psychological one about symbiotic, co-dependant siblings to one about those same siblings in a social, often sexist context - whilst retaining the bizarre, and sometimes pathological relation between the twins.

This new, female oriented context provides a fresh take on the relation between Beverly and Elliot. It's much more complicated than it was in the Cronenberg version, more nuanced, less psychological, and eventually, even more messed up. And merely by having two female protagonists instead of two males, the problems that they encounter and their ongoing discussions add a new social dimension to the story.

Also: many kudos to Rachel Weisz. Well done, milady.

Striving for perfection

[sleepholymtn · 9/10 · 21 April 2023]

I'm at a loss for words this is so good. I'm a huge fan of Cronenberg and so far it's exceeding the original movie. I only have it at a 9:00 because this is the first episode and just like these pregnancies things can go down south pretty quick and pretty fast and end up dead on the floor. That said I don't pursue that happening this explores the story in a totally different way with scenes that are phenomenally acted. It has absolute cinematic looks with a intimate feel. The acting made me cry, wince, feel the emotions of all the characters in such a succinct way. This show is brutally violent and emotionally taxing in the best way possible.

What was I watching?

[stevebronco · 2/10 · 26 April 2023]

Having just finished The Diplomat Season 1, my expectations were high. But after 30 minutes, I not only couldn't tell what the story was about - I had lost all interest. I've enjoyed several of Rachel's previous works, and she does a good job reacting to herself in what I can only assume is a plot that will eventually make some point. And I'm not squeamish about field-dressing a fresh deer, but the barrage of graphic births, C-sections, and a bare-handed retrieval of a miscarried fetus from a toilet to say "Hi" seemed not only gratuitous, but pointless. They're twin OBGYNs working at the same hospital as peers, but frequently swap identities, take drugs, and hang out in bars till the wee hours? Yeah, it all sounds like some bad movie... I'd rather watch Val Kilmer as Neek Rivers.