The life of Elliot and Beverly, an identical twin, who share the same life and even the same profession, as they work as gynecologists, has been turned upside down, when they fall for the same woman.
An intense psychological drama which confronts [Cronenberg's] familiar preoccupations -- fear of physical and mental disintegration, mortality, the power struggle between the sexes -- without the paradoxical protection of visceral disgust.
In a weird variation of the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde theme, the Mantles are drawn relentlessly and frighteningly towards an inevitable and appalling fate.
People like myself who find the character played by [Genevieve] Bujold (in one of her best performances) more interesting than either of the twins are bound to feel rather frustrated by the end.
Impeccably executed, Cronenberg's first masterpiece is an unsettling film in which biological horror is entirely conveyed through pyschological exploration of character, masterfully played by Jeremy Irons in the best performance of his career.
Cronenberg, who has begun to emerge as a master of body-related horrific fantasy, clearly understands that a small amount of medical mischief can be more unnerving than conventional grisliness.
Washington Post
January 01, 2000
Really sordid stuff that becomes ridiculous, painful, unbelievable and tedious.
