via Giphy/Courtesy 20th Century Studios
"Oh! That really hurts."
*Dr. Elliot Mantle (Jeremy Irons), whom she believes is Dr. Beverly Mantle (also Irons) pauses*
"This? *applies more force* This ... *holds up tool* hurts."
"I don't know what exactly it is, it's hurting me."
"Mrs. Bookman, this is a solid gold Mantle retractor. Solid gold. It's the best there is. This clinic's the best there is. I mean, we have the technology. ... Couldn't possibly hurt."
Is there a more 1980s concept than intimate horror? David Cronenberg, who directed and co-wrote Dead Ringers, didn't include STDs. But he and Norman Snider used Stewart and Cyril Marcus' story, plus the book Twins, as a launchpad for a movie that pulled no punches about the terror of violence against women. I was struck by Elliot watching Claire Niveau (Geneviève Bujold) get made up to look battered. At that point in Ringers, Claire had been raped by Elliot. The word itself is never used, but Claire's confrontation with the brothers makes it apparent that she sees it that way. Really, how else would you describe a situation where Beverly lets Elliot pose as himself and have sex with Claire before continuing his own sexual relationship?
One of the best details in Ringers is that Elliot loves watching Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. It's both an effective timestamp and evocative. Of course famous people would be interesting to Elliot. Generally, they look or act like nobody else. Elliot and Beverly's ability to imitate the other, not to mention the symbiotic (or is it parasitic?) relationship that has resulted in the public seeing them as "the wonderful Mantle boys," has superficial benefits and deep problems. Once the brothers fall out of sync, with personal and professional lives fraying Elliot tells girlfriend Cary (Heidi von Palleske) that "If Bev goes down the tubes, I go with him." Heartwarming, yes, until you consider that both men have likely abused the trust of countless women.
"I ... I didn't mean to question it. *clenches*
"When did you last have a period?"
"Uh ... I haven't had one in four or five months."
"And does it hurt when you have intercourse?"
"Yes, it does."
*a long silence between Bookman and Elliot, who isn't actually reacting to her*
Ringers is perhaps best remembered as a triumph for Irons and/or Cronenberg. and rightfully so. Thirty-three years after its premiere, the movie still looks amazing. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I believed I watched two different actors whenever the Mantles shared a scene. Honestly, I think that would insult Irons, another distinguished recipient of the "Acting Your Dick or Tits Off" award. This is not to take anything away from Bujold, who had an especially tricky part to play. Claire may be decadent, not above being promiscuous and abusing prescription drugs, but she's also vulnerable. Her life is tabloid fodder*, but she still has the right to fully consensual sex and not having her cervix treated like a sideshow exhibit. And again, by a gynecologist.
*I initially thought the soap opera that Beverly watched while trying to detox was an installment of Claire's miniseries. Her projects, including something about domestic violence (the miniseries?) and a movie where she and the leading man get handcuffed and she's initially expected to wear the wardrobe of a $10 hooker, have me wondering if Cronenberg and/or Snider were thinking of or secretly writing for Farrah Fawcett.
Appraising Ringers' chances of wide audience appeal, Rita Kempley was doubtful. "Mostly it should boost business for female gynecologists." Sheila Benson: "A deranged gynecologist is probably the embodiment of a woman's worst fears." I watched Ringers in 2021, during a time when "COVID-19 has more rights to reproductive freedom in Texas than a woman," and The New York Times declared that "It's Not Just the Larry Nassar Case. We Are Failing Sexual Assault Victims Across the Country." The more I think about Ringers, the more I'm wowed by Cronenberg, Irons and Bujold. To use and modify TV Tropes language, I also think of the Mantles more as tragic asshole villains. How fitting that they're so in awe of their tools.
"Where was I?"
"You asked me whether or not it hurt when I had intercourse and then I said it did."
"Yes. *removes retractor* What exactly did you have intercourse with?"
"What do you mean?"
"I just wondered. *performs digital portion of exam* I was once asked to treat a woman who had had intercourse with a Labrador retriever ... and I thought ... maybe ..."
*Mrs. Bookman is horrified*
Recommended.
Thoughts:
-- "*Beverly, drunk, has joined in on Eliot's acceptance speech* A lot of you are probably wondering how we divide the work. It's like this: I slave over the hot snatches and Elliot makes the speeches. ... I do everything for those bimbos except take them home and stick it in them."
-- Box Office: Grossing $8 million domestically on a $13 million budget, this opened at No. 1.
-- Awards Watch: Dead Ringers was the big winner at the Genie Awards, scoring for Best Motion Picture, plus its direction, adapted screenplay, actor, editing, art direction, cinematography, score, sound and sound editing, as well as receiving nods for Best Actress and the costumes. Alas, the movie went zero for five at the Saturns, despite nods for Best Horror Film, actor, writing, music and costumes.
-- Critic's Corner, the movie: "It's a mesmerizing achievement, as well as a terrifically unnerving one," Janet Maslin wrote. Desson Howe admitted to being surprised that Cronenberg avoided "sheer freak show, conducting this otherworldly operation with sympathy for the patients." David Denby observed how the "scandalous but suave movie bristles with intimations of the obscene just barely held in check by the director's smooth and shiny new manner." At the same time, Denby acknowledged that the wit "has a distinctly misogynistic underlay ... I think I can state as a general aesthetic rule that a man menacing a woman's genitals with steel prongs is not amusing."
-- Critic's Corner, Irons: "(He) confuses, terrified and astounds with this eerie performance -- like Patty Duke in a house of mirrors," Kempley wrote. As for Denby, he considered it Irons' "first entertaining performance ... (he) should consider casting off the unwearable mantle of Olivier and indulging this newfound talent for fancy trash roles."
-- Critic's Corner, Bujold: Ringers needed more of her, Ebert felt, observing that Claire was "sophisticated and worldly enough to understand the twins." Denby one last time: "Bujold heats up the screen here with a mixture of ravenousness and vulnerability; she is a most civilized avatar of exotic, naughty pleasures."
-- Hey, It's ...!: Jill Hennessy, with twin sister Jacqueline, as a pair of twin call girls.
-- Hey, It's 1988!: The same "JFK & The Mob" issue of People seen in The Accidental Tourist can be glimpsed among Beverly's squalor.
-- "How 'bout some cake?" "I could go for that. ... And some orange pop. And some ice cream." "We haven't got any ice cream, Ellie. Mummy forgot to buy it." "I want ... some ice cream." "Happy Birthday, Ellie." "It's not our birthday, Bev." "Yes, it is." "Happy Birthday, baby brother."
-- Next: Bull Durham. On deck: Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.
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