For most of us, it was probably “The Parent Trap”—either Hayley Mills in 1961’s original or Lindsay Lohan in the millennial-era remake. The twin-swap concept is a classic bit of cinematic sleight of hand, steadily deployed for generations in comedies like “Bowfinger” or “Big Business.” But twinning also offers filmmakers a striking visual technique that allows them to explore the fractured nature of identity, posing the question that we all dread: What if I’m not who I thought I was?
Movies like “Dead Ringers,” “Adaptation,” “The Prestige,” and “Legend” center on twins physically intertwined despite having dramatically different worldviews, a conflicting contrast that often leads to tragedy as the personas struggle to find balance. Horror films like “Us” and “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” crank up the dread with doppelgängers standing in as metaphors for social inequality and conformity, while sci-fi movies like “Moon” and “Oblivion” (spoiler alert!) take twinning into corporate dystopias with stories of workers who realize that they are actually clones.
Which brings us to “Mickey 17,” Bong Joon-ho’s latest genre-exploding satire, opening at The Triplex this week. Bong, never one to shy away from gonzo social allegory (e.g., “Snowpiercer,” “Okja”), takes the “worker as clone” premise and twists it into something uniquely anarchic. In this story, Mickey (Robert Pattinson), a worker who signs up as an expendable clone on an outer space colony, becomes a cog in a system that sees him dying over and over in the process. Bong uses twinning here as a statement on autonomy in an increasingly corporate world, with the lowly clone’s fight for survival threatening to upset the colony’s authoritarian government.
At its core, twinning in cinema is about reflection—the ways we see ourselves, the ways we don’t, and the ways we desperately try to reconcile the two. Introspection can be a painful process, and these movies attempt to rip the Band-Aid off by saying, yes, maybe we are not everything we want to be. But they also offer hope: that by being truthful with ourselves we can find a way to peaceful existence—or, at the very least, a reunion of our estranged selves.
Now Playing
“I’m Still Here”
Nominated for Best Picture, Best International Feature, and Best Actress at this year’s Academy Awards, Walter Salles’ “I’m Still Here” is a gripping story about pursuing truth while living under an authoritarian regime. Fernanda Torres stars as Eunice Pravia, a woman who risked everything to uncover the truth after her husband was abducted by Brazil’s military dictatorship.
Part of our Limited Engagement series, “I’m Still Here” comes to The Triplex for one week, from March 7 to 13.
“Becoming Led Zeppelin”
Travel along with the legendary rock band on the year they broke through in “Becoming Led Zeppelin,” a new documentary that incorporates interviews, archival footage, and concert performances guaranteed to blow you away. The first official documentary from the surviving members of the band, don’t miss your chance to see this explosive doc with the sound it deserves.
Part of our Limited Engagement Series, “Becoming Led Zeppelin” plays for one week, from March 7 to 13.
“Last Breath”
A true-life tale of survival starring Woody Harrelson and Simu Liu.
A heart-pounding survival thriller, “Last Breath” is based on a real-life story of perseverance set at the bottom of the ocean. Director Alex Parkinson adapts his 2019 documentary about a team of deep-sea divers (Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, Cliff Curtis) as they race against time to rescue a crewmate trapped hundreds of feet below the water’s surface.
Continues this week!
Coming Soon
“Black Bag”
Pair “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” with the cool British sensibility of “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” and you’ll get Steven Soderbergh’s “Black Bag”! When legendary spy Kathryn Woodhouse (Cate Blanchett) is accused of treason, her husband and fellow intelligence officer, George (Michael Fassbender), is assigned to investigate her—testing George’s loyalty to his marriage and his country.
Starts March 14.
“September 5”
A tense thriller that puts you in the control room with the unlikely team that broke the story of the hostage crisis at the 1972 Munich Olympics, “September 5” follows the ABC Sports crew who were forced to answer some of the hardest questions in journalism. Peter Sarsgaard leads an ensemble cast in this story of ethical complexity that will have you on the edge of your seat as it takes you beat by beat through one of history’s darkest days.
Part of our Limited Engagement series, “September 5” comes to The Triplex for one week, from March 14 to 20.
“Lost Highway”
Take a trip into darkness in “Lost Highway,” the next entry in “Time to Wake Up: A Tribute to David Lynch.” A twisted neo-noir that blurs time and identity, “Lost Highway” follows Bill Pullman’s Fred as he gets pulled into a loop of crime, sex, and mystery that begins to test his sanity.
March 15, at 8 p.m.
