Three Identical Strangers review: A jaw-dropping insight into one of the big stories of the 1980s – a tale of three brothers who didn’t meet until they were 19 years old.
Three Identical Strangers review by Paul Heath.
Three Identical Strangers review
Three Identical Strangers revolves around a story that you may have come across in the headlines, a remarkable tale of Bobby Shafran, Eddy Galland, and David Kellman, triplets who are united purely by chance in New York at the age of 19. It’s one of those stories that if it were a dramatic narrative it would be completely unbelievable.
The three brothers were catapulted onto the world stage in 1980, frequently seen on the chat show circuit to talk about their story – their faces, all identical and recognised across America. It’s a film that starts off as a very light-hearted piece, director Tim Wardle not wasting any time to bring the viewer into the story, documenting the brothers’ initial meeting, one which stemmed from a journalist taking an interest in a potential story about two twins who didn’t know of each another’s existence – remarkable in itself. When a third brother saw the report, everyone’s minds – including this viewer who knew nothing about Bobby, Eddy and David- were blown.
Wardle employs the use of tracks like ‘Walking On Sunshine’ by Katrina and the Waves to fluff up the documentary even more, but then the filmmaker starts to break down proceedings to deep-dive into the repercussions of their chance meeting and the reason why they were split up shortly after birth nearly two decades before.
I won’t go into too much detail here, but we slide into darker territory in the film’s second half. Wardle’s talking head approach takes us into the harsh reality of the brothers’ unknown past and the circumstances that led to them being apart. It is at times even more surprising than the story of their eventual re-connection, and very upsetting in parts. Wardle’s lingering camera as he ends his interviews with his key subjects perfectly sums up what proceeds it – people who are still very affected by the events that have unfolded since the brothers came back into one another’s lives.
There’s a lot more to the documentary and the filmmaker goes beyond the three brothers to expand things with other subjects, and it is then when even more deeper secrets start to surface and the feature becomes even more absorbing.
It’s a really engaging watch, totally engrossing and absolutely heartbreaking, a film which dares to go beyond the headlines and expose the real story behind the tabloids. Hugely recommended.
Three Identical Strangers review by Paul Heath, June 2018.
Three Identical Strangers was reviewed at the 2018 Sydney Film Festival.
