Review: “Three Identical Strangers”
It’s been a while since I posted anything on here. Part of the reason is that I haven’t really had anything to write about; the other part is I’m not sure anyone really cares what I think. Now at least, I’ve found something I want to tell people about, no matter how few people see it.
I joined Moviepass a few months ago. I won’t shill it here, but I think it’s great. If you want more information let me know & I’ll wax rhapsodic there. The thing I love most about it is that it makes me feel able to see films I wouldn’t normally see. There’s at least four films I’ve seen since joining that I wouldn’t have seen without Moviepass, and every one of them I have enjoyed. Maybe I’ll write more on those later.
Three Identical Strangers is a documentary that is hard to believe is true. What would you do if you suddenly found out you had a twin? When 19-year-old Bobby attends his first day of college, he is greeted warmly by every stranger he meets, but they all keep calling him Eddie. After confirming some basic information, the realize that, beyond all odds, they are twins separated at birth. They get their pictures in the papers and enjoy some local notoriety, until one day, one of the mothers receives a phone call - from a third sibling. Triplets, all separated at birth, adopted into three very different families, none of whom knew about the others. The boys were ecstatic. So much about them was similar from the very beginning. But this raised a lot of questions, and the parents decided to try to get some answers.
All the adoptions had taken place through the Louise Wise Agency. The parents went there to get answers, and were given some, but they felt that something was still not right. It would take many years and a phone call from a writer in Austin (of all places) for more of the truth to come out.
This documentary runs the gamut of emotions. It starts off very light-hearted as you see the twins getting to know each other and, as one of them puts it, fall in love with each other. But when the cracks start showing, the mood shifts to disbelief and sadness. There’s a lot to unpack in this, and I really want to tell you all about it, but I also really want you to feel the chills I got at one point, and cry the tears I cried at another. It’s insidious what happened to these men and the repercussions have been tragic. Possibly even worse is that what has happened to them happened to others, and some may not even know.
So I ask again, what would you do if you found out you had a twin? Because after seeing this documentary, you may feel the odds are higher than you thought.
I joined Moviepass a few months ago. I won’t shill it here, but I think it’s great. If you want more information let me know & I’ll wax rhapsodic there. The thing I love most about it is that it makes me feel able to see films I wouldn’t normally see. There’s at least four films I’ve seen since joining that I wouldn’t have seen without Moviepass, and every one of them I have enjoyed. Maybe I’ll write more on those later.
Three Identical Strangers is a documentary that is hard to believe is true. What would you do if you suddenly found out you had a twin? When 19-year-old Bobby attends his first day of college, he is greeted warmly by every stranger he meets, but they all keep calling him Eddie. After confirming some basic information, the realize that, beyond all odds, they are twins separated at birth. They get their pictures in the papers and enjoy some local notoriety, until one day, one of the mothers receives a phone call - from a third sibling. Triplets, all separated at birth, adopted into three very different families, none of whom knew about the others. The boys were ecstatic. So much about them was similar from the very beginning. But this raised a lot of questions, and the parents decided to try to get some answers.
All the adoptions had taken place through the Louise Wise Agency. The parents went there to get answers, and were given some, but they felt that something was still not right. It would take many years and a phone call from a writer in Austin (of all places) for more of the truth to come out.
This documentary runs the gamut of emotions. It starts off very light-hearted as you see the twins getting to know each other and, as one of them puts it, fall in love with each other. But when the cracks start showing, the mood shifts to disbelief and sadness. There’s a lot to unpack in this, and I really want to tell you all about it, but I also really want you to feel the chills I got at one point, and cry the tears I cried at another. It’s insidious what happened to these men and the repercussions have been tragic. Possibly even worse is that what has happened to them happened to others, and some may not even know.
So I ask again, what would you do if you found out you had a twin? Because after seeing this documentary, you may feel the odds are higher than you thought.
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