by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
The trend of turning a movie into a TV series continues into 2023. With so many creative individuals looking for ways to express their vision, sometimes it’s easier to take an existing property, and expand upon the idea. Sometimes, subtle changes to the characters might give the story a new perspective.
Most recently, Amazon Prime Video remade the 1988 film, Dead Ringers, which stars Jeremy Irons, and was directed by David Cronenberg (both are based off the 1977 novel Twins). The show, though, swaps out brothers Irons plays for sisters for sisters, played by Rachel Weisz, and sets the story in the 21st century.
I’ve never seen Dead Ringers the movie, but I watched it once I finished the limited series. Irons is impressive since he’s pulling double duty, but the story just feels creepy now. Twin brothers constantly swap when the more confident one tires of the women he seduces at the gynecology clinic they run, and he passes them to the shy introvert. With the advent of the #MeToo movement, this premise wouldn’t work today.
Switching brothers for sisters in the limited series accomplishes a few things. First, it shows a different dynamic about the sexual exploitation, with women being the perpetrators instead of men. This is evident in the first few minutes of the first episode when a man at a diner propositions the sisters for sex, because he thinks everyone wants to sleep with twin sisters. They resoundingly reject him, but they also mention how this type of stuff happens to them all the time.
Second, having women be doctors puts a spotlight on issues involving women’s health and women’s rights. It’s a timely subject right now in the United States, but I really appreciate how both Beverly and Eliot (both played by Weisz) represent different vantage points when it comes to women’s health and childbirth. Both of them struggle with how hospitals treat pregnancy as an emergency, rather than a natural process that women go through. It’s what drives them to create their birthing center. Seeing the many issues women endure while pregnant — from the stigma behind women’s infertility, to making tough decisions about childbirth, to postpartum complications — gives viewers a small glimpse at the impossible choices women have to make regarding their body and their children.
Weisz is astounding in these roles. I’ve always liked her as a performer but Dead Ringers is the level-up moment for her career. The range she has is tremendous, because Beverly and Eliot are so different. Beverly is more reserved and conservative, unlike Eliot, who’s more free-spirited and extroverted. They have sweet moments in their relationship, but then they have completely inappropriate moments.
Dead Ringers gives us a great story about two sisters who are completely codependent on one another. Beverly and Eliot do everything together. They work together, they live together, and they even hang out together. Additionally, they complicate their relationship by making toxic and destructive decisions. Eliot in particular is the wild card who can’t always control what she says or does. They enable each other to the point where they’re blind to how destructive their relationship is. Both doctors are brilliant, but can’t get out of their way.
Fertility is a hot topic for Dead Ringers. The series goes to great lengths to talk about how women’s fertility is their business, but also how there’s a strain on women who are having fertility issues, or women who choose not to have children. Beverly’s patient Genevieve (Britne Oldford) encapsulates the fertility issue best, as she’s an actress who feels less like a woman because of her infertility issues. Beverly also goes through issues with fertility because she’s trying to get pregnant but nothing is working for her.
Dead Ringers is one of the best limited series I’ve seen this year, and has one of the most dynamic and visceral performances from Weisz. It’ll make you super uncomfortable at times, so trigger warnings if you don’t like blood or scenes of childbirth. It offers an unnerving look at how women struggle with issues of pregnancy. The ending is a tough watch, mainly due to the choices made by both characters. I hope this doesn’t get lost in the shuffle during awards season, because it deserves some accolades.
Score: 8/10
Dead Ringers is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video
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