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6

Bertaut1Dec 10, 2018

Interesting and reasonably well-made, but morally questionable in how it presents some of the material

What is the primary factor in making us who we are? Were the truly great figures of pure evil - Elizabeth Báthory, Adolf Hitler, HaroldInteresting and reasonably well-made, but morally questionable in how it presents some of the material

What is the primary factor in making us who we are? Were the truly great figures of pure evil - Elizabeth Báthory, Adolf Hitler, Harold Shipman, Peter Scully, Adam Sandler - always destined to become who they became, or are there to be found moments and influences in their environment which turned them into the monsters with whom we're familiar? Is our destiny genetically encoded at the moment of our conception? In short, it's the question of nature vs. nurture. Focused on precisely these questions, twin studies attempt to determine the etiology of differential psychologies in individuals who are genetically similar.

And these are the murky waters charted by director Tim Wardle's Three Identical Strangers. However, for me, although the fascinating central story is undoubtedly gripping, there are just too many egregious problems, including an excess of distasteful sensationalism; a dearth of contextualising scientific information; overly simplistic ethical, moral, philosophical, and esoteric conclusions; stylistic drabness; and, an overreliance on plot twists beyond what you would expect of a documentary.

The film tells the story of Bobby Shafran, Eddy Gallan, and David Kellman, who, through luck and coincidence learn they are triplets separated as babies. Becoming minor celebrities, they appear on talk shows across the country. However, they and their families are puzzled as to why they had been separated, and why their adoptive parents had not been told they were triplets. Was it a coincidence that Bobby had been placed with an affluent family, Eddy with a middle-class family, and David with a blue-collar family? Did the regular aptitude and psychological tests they received as children, part of what their parents were told was a "routine childhood-development study", have anything to do with their separation? What was the involvement of the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services? How much did Louise Wise Services know? How was Dr. Peter B. Neubauer of the Jewish Board's Child Development Centre involved? Where was the birth mother?

As to the question of nature vs. nurture, initially, events seem to point very much to nature - the brothers smoked the same brand of cigarettes; they had been amateur wrestlers; they had the same taste in women; they had similar speech patterns. However, as the documentary goes on, the argument shifts, with the brothers admitting they over-emphasised their similarities at the time, leading to what seemed a clear win for biological determinism. As time went on, however, their differences began coming to the surface, and ultimately, the documentary argues in favour of nurture.

However, how it goes about establishing this argument is questionable, with Wardle sliding more and more into sensationalism. So intent is he on controlling our perceptions that he leaves out a massive piece of information until such time as he deems it pertinent to reveal, and when he does so, he explicitly tells us what to think about it. It's difficult to go into any of this without straying into spoilers, so consider the rest of this paragraph a spoiler. Essentially, Wardle paints the suicide of one of the brothers as unquestionably the result of his adopted father's disciplinarianism, a father who is still alive, and who appears in the film. Wardle does this by cutting from a clip of that father wondering if he had a role in the suicide to one of the other brothers saying, to paraphrase, "I'm still alive because my parents weren't as strict as his." Blaming his death entirely on parenting in this manner is facile, grossly overly simplistic, and offensive. In fact, the way Wardle handles the suicide in general is deplorable, teasing it and teasing it, before gleefully revealing it for maximum tabloid-esque shock value.

There are other problems, however. Aesthetically, the documentary is drab and dull, almost lifeless. The recreations are bland, and the talking head interviews are flat. Additionally, twin studies are a recognised and accepted scientific practice, but Wardle is so intent on making sure we are appalled at what happened to the brothers that he provides almost no context. If he had spent less time trying to steer the viewers' emotions and more in providing a broader theoretical framework, the film would have worked much better.

The story of Three Identical Strangers poses fascinating questions about nature vs. nurture and the morality of certain types of research, but Wardle's subjective opinion comes across far more than it ought. More interested in driving home the shock value than providing a penetrating documentary about free will vs biological determinism, there is little here that you wouldn't be able to find on Google. Given the outrageousness of the material, that Wardle has made such a conventional film is disappointing.… Expand

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8

BHBarryJul 3, 2018

“Three Identical Strangers” is a documentary based on the true story of triplets separated at birth who, by some miracle of coincidence or divine providence, are reunited at 19 years of age. Directed by Tim Wardle, this is a moving film and“Three Identical Strangers” is a documentary based on the true story of triplets separated at birth who, by some miracle of coincidence or divine providence, are reunited at 19 years of age. Directed by Tim Wardle, this is a moving film and depicts and describes what motivated and caused their separation as well as the lives the 3 led prior to their learning that they were so directly related. What would seem, at first, to be a difficult story to tell, the film holds the interest of the audience as events unfold to make this story something that seems only a writer of fiction could conjure up. Yet, as is so often the case, the truth here is stranger and more interesting than any literary talent could create or ask an audience to believe. I give this documentary an 8 and urge all who can not to miss the opportunity to see it.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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6

TVJerryJul 24, 2018

From the "truth is stranger" department comes this surprising story: Triplets were separated at birth and by incredible coincidence, discovered each other 19 years later. This doc features interviews with the trio, their friends and family,From the "truth is stranger" department comes this surprising story: Triplets were separated at birth and by incredible coincidence, discovered each other 19 years later. This doc features interviews with the trio, their friends and family, plus plenty of photos and footage from their short-lived fame. After detailing this situation, the investigation goes deeper into the reasons they were split up. This is when it gets dark and the pace starts to slow. Although there aren't any innovative approaches to the form (and the trailer pretty much reveals the salient points), it still unfolds an unusual situation with fascinating and sometimes disturbing information.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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8

GreatMartinJul 20, 2018

The less you know about “Three Identical Strangers” the more times you will find yourself with your mouth agape asking yourself if you just heard what you thought you heard!

This is a film definitely ‘stranger than fiction’ and starts withThe less you know about “Three Identical Strangers” the more times you will find yourself with your mouth agape asking yourself if you just heard what you thought you heard!

This is a film definitely ‘stranger than fiction’ and starts with the fact that boy triplets were separated at birth and each given to a different ‘class’ family, none of the adoptive parents knowing their son had 2 brothers. The story opens with how, just by chance, the 3 brothers meet 19 years later.

The “Why?” they were separated, the outcome of that separation and their reunion along with the results ranges from laughs to tears to truly tragic emotions. Much is made of whether nurture or nature is more important in raising a child and though that question is not answered examples of both are shown.

We do hear from and learn about the adoptive parents but though, by design, the boys are given to families that already have children we do not hear from the siblings. We, also, hear a bit about the birth mother though I don’t recall anything about the father.

The film leaves you with some questions but it certainly shows that, yes, it can happen here!… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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8

auburnnAug 12, 2018

A compelling work produced with roller-coaster twists. The director manages to arrange the materials neatly and reasonably, adding the sense of contemplation and philosophical reflection into it. The movie can be interpreted as arts'A compelling work produced with roller-coaster twists. The director manages to arrange the materials neatly and reasonably, adding the sense of contemplation and philosophical reflection into it. The movie can be interpreted as arts' intervening in the three brothers' lives as a substitute for science. The green curtain is everything constituting a fictional narrative. However, the last half of the move becomes confusing, which disturbs a main thread of the whole film.… Expand

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8

GrantD243Jul 11, 2018

Three Identical Strangers is a documentary that tells the remarkable and rather disturbing story of a set of triplets that were separated at birth by an adoption agency and placed in three different households, but by complete coincidence twoThree Identical Strangers is a documentary that tells the remarkable and rather disturbing story of a set of triplets that were separated at birth by an adoption agency and placed in three different households, but by complete coincidence two of them find each other when they're around 19 years old, and then the third enters the picture after seeing his two brothers in the newspaper. Unfortunately, that's about as far as I can go without getting into spoilers, which would really ruin the experience with this film. The story telling here is quite good. They do a great job of setting up a happy story about three brothers re-uniting after growing up separately before delving into what is really a dark story. Every time it seems like it's reached an end there is more to be told and uncovered. There are a few moments where it seems like the mystery is hyped up a little bit more than it needs to be, but that's a rather small nitpick. It's very well made and is better than your run-of-the-mill TV/Netflix documentary. I think it's well worth the watch.… Expand

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9

LegendaryLassDec 14, 2018

Like any good documentary, it gets you to invest in the subject... then it twists it. Then it twists it all over again.

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9

DufreshestJul 9, 2018

Usually, any film on the basis of a true story tends to flow as its own cinematic development with embeddings of aspects of a true story— the true story— attempting to replicate a reality— in an appealing sense—which is difficult to actuallyUsually, any film on the basis of a true story tends to flow as its own cinematic development with embeddings of aspects of a true story— the true story— attempting to replicate a reality— in an appealing sense—which is difficult to actually attain again due to the progression of time from the actual events. Yet, Three Identical Strangers flips the script. The progression of the film as a cinematographic development deeply roots viewers into a position which forces viewers to acknowledge the depths of the situations before them without being able to turn away.

Three Identical Strangers divulges truths of being and charades. Differentiating between the three brothers, the three identical strangers, externally seems already difficult alone: now, imagine doing so during their propulsion into the spotlight and then attempting to identify them as individuals of their own interior from their exteriority. The title, Three Identical Strangers, is very suitable because so much does not come from the interior to reveal anything beyond their developing circumstances in the film: there is so much focus on the exteriority of these three identical siblings that finds disruption even beginning to near the interiority-- in particular, with one of the brothers. One of the most interesting developmental scenes of the documentary concerns the lack of access even the brothers have attempting to approach their brother Eddy’s house after an incident. Through to the end of the documentary, the archival—the secure interior—is inaccessible, at least seemingly so, until the owners of the archival open up and allow access.

The conversation of public and private—exterior and interior-- is very prevalent and important to understanding from general broad perspectives to very specific perspectives. The first time of my earnest consideration, contemplation, and engagement of the conversation concerning the public and private occurs when one of my college professors assigns Jane Austen’s Persuasion. Initially, I come upon Jane Austen because the mother of a child I babysit is an interior decorator and has a very interesting library in her home inclusive of the entire Jane Austen collection. Jane Austen does an amazing job exploring the exteriority and interiority of societal members in public and private spaces (at least, in the texts I’ve read from her). Perceptions of societal expectations concerning the ideas of icons and positions in society affect societies and individuals of societies in myriad ways which may not even seem so apparent to them immediately though in hindsight is very apparent: as is shown in Three Identical Strangers, some struggle finding their way to even get to the point to deal with aspects of their hindsight.

What is binding anyone? What prevents one from even feeling capable of being free? Processes of life come in a variety of paces which everyone must make sure to navigate accordingly and appropriately to better their way forward. Yet, I find many people succumb to their beliefs concerning societal pressures and societal standards that prevent them from experiencing life according to their own experimental processes of discovery and figuring-- which may inhibit them from fulfilling their potentials. There are individuals that are well aware of varying circumstances in life and prepare their selves so as to live in the broader sense of the world according to their understandings in reasonable-sensible manners.

Three Identical Strangers discusses the topic of nature vs. nurture in relation to the circumstances of each brothers development within different foster homes which hinges heavily on matters of public and private spaces. As I do not know the private experiences of these triplets (and barely the public), a question comes to mind concerning the nurturing happening between the three of them through their adulthood and through their re-separation: how are they nurturing each other and their selves alone? Their behavior during childhood in separation concerning their methods of falling asleep makes one wonder of the separation anxiety Eddy might have been going through on his own. After watching Three Identical Strangers, I come to recognize (even more so) the importance of asking questions, seeking help, self-nurturing in one’s own spaces at one’s own paces, and moving away from one’s own beliefs concerning societal expectations and societal standards as well as societal expectations and societal standards apart from one’s beliefs. There are times one may be in the pictures—and, there are times one must simply observe the pictures. Three Identical Strangers is a great documentary which brings to light topics that really are affecting societies today: along the same lines, I think mental health is important—but, I think mental development is far more important.

-K.D.

If you’re into Poetry and other bits of creativity, check out my Instagram: @Dufreshest.… Expand

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0

valixtSep 7, 2018

The conformity of the trailer didn't spark my interest to this "extraorndinary" story.

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7

drlowdonMay 5, 2021

Combining archival footage, re-enacted scenes, and present-day interviews Three Identical Strangers tells the story of a set of identical triplets, who were adopted as infants by separate families, only to meet by chance at the age ofCombining archival footage, re-enacted scenes, and present-day interviews Three Identical Strangers tells the story of a set of identical triplets, who were adopted as infants by separate families, only to meet by chance at the age of nineteen.

Starting out as a heart-warming story, things soon take a darker turn once the truth about their separation and adoption is revealed, and with each layer that unfolds the story becomes more and more fascinating. This is well worth a watch.… Expand