Dead Ringers review: Rachel Weisz takes on the role of twin gynaecologists
Thrilling six-part series on Amazon Prime is almost flawless
David Cronenberg’s 1988 psychological thriller about twin gynaecologists descending into mania featured surgical instruments “so misshapen and disturbing, it was difficult to watch without squirming”, said Barbara Ellen in The Observer. Now the film has been made into a six-part series for Amazon Prime, with the lead roles gender reversed, and it’s also pretty extreme: “I haven’t seen this much gushing blood since the lift scene in The Shining.”
Rachel Weisz stars as Elliot and Beverly Mantle, who were played by Jeremy Irons in the film. Although the sisters have radically different personalities, they are trapped in the “sickly sweet toxicity of their twindom”, and will swap identities when it suits them. There are too many subplots, but Weisz “slips on the dual skins” with such “campy relish” that it’s hard not to enjoy the drama.
Weisz manages to make the series at once “more interesting and less creepy” than the Cronenberg film, said Camilla Long in The Sunday Times; but she is “upstaged” by Jennifer Ehle, playing a “heartless heiress” who is thinking of investing $16m into the twins’ “birthing centre”. Ehle is still best known for Pride and Prejudice, but her performance reminded me of how good an actress she is: “intense, menacing, precise”.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The series is almost flawless, said Elizabeth Gregory in the Evening Standard. The dialogue is brilliant, and the drama “keeps its momentum to the end”, building to a shocking finale that is “perfectly at one with the rest of this fantastic piece of work”.
Watch on Amazon Prime Video
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Political cartoons for October 28Cartoons Tuesday's political cartoons include a bailout for Argentina, a frog prince, and Epstein distractions
-
The best adventure holidays for adrenaline junkiesThe Week Recommends Five destinations perfect for outdoor thrill-seekers
-
Crossword: October 28, 2025The Week's daily crossword
-
Roasted squash and apple soup recipeThe Week Recommends Autumnal soup is full of warming and hearty flavours
-
6 well-crafted log homesFeature Featuring a floor-to-ceiling rock fireplace in Montana and a Tulikivi stove in New York
-
Film reviews: A House of Dynamite, After the Hunt, and It Was Just an AccidentFeature A nuclear missile bears down on a U.S. city, a sexual misconduct allegation rocks an elite university campus, and a victim of government terror pursues vengeance
-
Book reviews: ‘Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife’ and ‘Make Me Commissioner: I Know What’s Wrong With Baseball and How to Fix It’Feature Gertrude Stein’s untold story and Jane Leavy’s playbook on how to save baseball
-
Rachel Ruysch: Nature Into ArtFeature Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, through Dec. 7
-
Music reviews: Olivia Dean, Madi Diaz, and Hannah FrancesFeature “The Art of Loving,” “Fatal Optimist,” and “Nested in Tangles”
-
Gilbert King’s 6 favorite books about the search for justiceFeature The journalist recommends works by Bryan Stevenson, David Grann, and more
-
Ready for the apocalypseFeature As anxiety rises about the state of the world, the ranks of preppers are growing—and changing.