AN EARLY MEETING OF "LIKE MINDS"

What is it with our fascination with psychopaths? I guess it has something to do with the fact that they are the closest thing we have to an alien species. Seeming like any one of us in so many ways, and yet not quite the same. I think it also has something to with the charisma often associated with psychopaths as well. I mean, I have not (to my knowledge) ever met a psychopath but they do seem to put across a bit more of a certain something than your average guy (they generally are guys. Female psychopaths exist but are much rarer). I mean, to the point that I did read an article somewhere that analysed the common traits between psychopaths and successful entrepreneurs, which in itself tells us something or other about the state of the business world today. But I digress. Well, not really.

Like Minds is the story of a psychopath in the making. Alex, the 17 year old son of the headmaster of a very privileged school is being held in custody at the local police station. The charge? The murder of a fellow student, Nigel and possible links to other heinous crimes committed in the area. However, the explanation he provides for the death of his friend is so bizarre that a forensic psychologist has to be brought in. The police chief is sure he’s as guilty as sin but Susan, the psychologist is not that sure. Alex’s tale is one of those yarns that is so tall it just might be too fantastic to be imagined up. He speaks of a world marked with mind games, manipulation and obsession. And as Susan plunges deeper and deeper into this case, one thing becomes painfully clear. Finding the identity of Nigel’s killer is not going to be as easy as it seems. 

Now you might, as I was, be slightly sceptical as to how many more psychopath movies you can take. I mean, yes, we are rather fascinated by this particular kind of killer, especially in harmless movie form. However, this also means that the market is fairly saturated with films about them. And not all of the “saturation” is of the same quality. In this cinematic multitude however, Like minds stands out as certainly a lot more than “just tolerable”.  The performances by the two leads, Eddie Redmayne – who later edged into the limelight with My week with Marilyn among other films and Tom Sturridge are quite superb. And the film gives a rather spine chilling “blow by blow” (if you pardon the pun) account of how a psychopath is born. How, if you will, the step is taken from “tendency” to reality.

I mean yes, it has to be said, there are bits – especially towards the end – that unfortunately slip into the slightly stilted. There were bits where a little originality (though of course I couldn’t say what – but that’s originality for you!) would have been very welcome indeed. Then again though, like I said, Like Minds, for all its original features, is a member of a large extended family, as we have just discussed, so I guess there is bound to be a “family resemblance”. I only wish it wasn’t from the “cliché” branch of the family. But nonetheless, I was easily able to overlook them and have a positively nail-biting time. And that says something, given the quantity of crime drama I watch. Let’s see what you lot make of it. 

TAKING THE NEXT STEP IN YOUR DEVELOPPMENT - IN THE CREEPIEST WAY POSSIBLE - "DEAD RINGERS"

I had a thing about this film for some reason. Not a good type of “thing” either. I’m not sure why I had this thing; it has everything I usually go for in a film. Plot twists, a brilliant director, a brilliant leading actor (I mean, Jeremy Irons, come on…).  I got the feeling that somehow it would be a little too creepy. I came across the film multiple times and avoided it. Until I saw it in the school library and thought, you know what, this is dumb. I need to get over this. And boy am I glad I did. Here’s for getting over one’s fears and moving on. It can be one heck of an experience. Just like meeting the Mantle twins – only slightly less creepy.

The thing that’s creepy about Elliot and Beverly Mantle is the fact that they are pretty much impossible to tell apart. And this, as you can imagine, is a fact that the twins take full advantage of. They are famous gynaecologists, in reality quiet and sensitive Beverly does the research and the outgoing Elliot implements it, managing the “PR” side of things. But be it in consultations, board meetings and even on dates, the twins live perfectly interchangeably. After all they are the only ones who can tell each other apart. Until, that is, Claire Niveaux, a sultry actress with a very interesting gynaecological problem waltzes into their lives.  The unthinkable happens. The shy and reticent Beverly falls madly in love with her. And for the first time in the twin’s lives, he wants to keep her all to himself. Now there are several problems with this plan. Firstly, what will Elliot – who is generally rather good at getting exactly what he wants in life – say about this and secondly, will either of them survive this first severing of their umbilical cord?

First of all, Ok, I do love the idea. And I am pretty sure that throughout history twins have abused their looks and replaced each other in various capacities. I wouldn’t know, I’m not a twin. However, my cousins are twins, one of my dearest friends is one of twins and I mean… Yes, they call them “identical” twins for a reason, but it is realistically quite easy to tell them apart. I guess it’s all about suspending disbelief and all that but I don’t know, possibly because I was hanging out with my cousins who are twins just before watching this, I found suspending that bit a bit hard. But let’s not split hairs. At the end of the day, some twins are almost impossible to tell apart. And although it is abundantly clear that Jeremy Irons plays both, he does both so well we can let it slip. By the way, this is an opportune moment to remark on how hard it actually must be to play not one but two very complicated parts in the same film. Congrats to Jeremy Irons,  it must be hard enough getting into one character but he very successfully manages to get into two at once.

Or is it two, really? Because, while playing around and using every gimmick in the book with the twins thing, Cronenberg is really asking, as far as I can tell, whether they actually are two people or two halves of the same person. The way Kusturica phrased it in “Arizona Dream” was “one person too big to go through life in one body” or something to that effect. We may well be able to say the same of the Mantle twins. It reaches the point when, every time Jeremy Irons appears on the screen, it is literally anyone’s guess which one he is. But don’t worry, clues are abundant. The insecurity lasts just long enough to shake you. And shake you this film will. It is definitely, definitely not for the faint of heart. But worth every spine chilling minute.