Intrepid Fantasia reporter Michael Lasry was a little bit iffy on the first two films he covered for us - Sharks and Atomik Circus - but Harry Cleven's identicle Twin thriller seems to have fared much better. Read on for the goods.
Identity is the condition of being oneself or itself, and not another. That being said, imagine having a monozygotic twin; a sibling that is your almost exact replica. As we discover in Harry Cleven's “Trouble", identity is a fickle thing in the disturbing state of twinhood.
Matyas is living comfortably with his pregnant wife and son until he finds out his mother has passed away. That doesn't seem enough drive a man completely nuts, as it does to Matyas, except that he's been in an orphanage since he can remember and has always believed his parents to have died in an accident. Furthermore, at the Notary's office, he is bamboozled at the sight of his clone. Thomas is his twin brother, and to Matyas' dismay, Thomas received his mother's love while Matyas was without family for no apparent reason. Matyas realizes that he has no memories of his time at home and goes on a quest to discover why his parents would've abandoned him. Things get more complicated when Thomas enters Matyas' family and proves to be a far more competent father and husband than Matyas. In a moment of absolute distress, Matyas tells his wife “He's everything you want me to be!" She replies, “No, but YOU can be like that".
“Trouble" plays well with the notion of identity. Not only does Matyas lose his identity as a father and husband but he also loses himself as it becomes clear that his brother could replace him. There also is great discomfort to know that someone out there, someone who's particularly creepy - that being Thomas - who knows what you're thinking and feeling because his genetic design is identical to your own. Early in their new found relationship, Thomas is concerned that Matyas might not be having his sexual needs satisfied due to his wife's pregnancy. “I know you always want to do it. I'm like that too. I know", says Thomas to a flabbergasted Matyas who knows his wife rejected him the night before.
Matyas tries to uncover what happened in those first six years of his life and the result is a taut suspense that doesn't depend on a key scene where everything is revealed and we all gasp in unison because we just didn't see that one coming and the film never gave us a chance to. This is what many thrillers are relegated to; fortunately this one isn't. We are presented with pieces of a puzzle which we slowly construct in our minds. The film is calm in its approach and suspense slowly rises as we try to find out with Matyas what has happened.
Director Harry Cleven was present at this North American premiere of his film. He emphasized how much he tried to put things in Matyas' perspective so that we could feel what he feels. He has done so quite successfully. For example, the film takes great advantage of the scene where Matyas discovers he has a twin. We see Matyas' confused countenance, then his point-of-view. The sound of the notary talking is muffled; Matyas isn't listening, he's trying to understand and as we see what he sees, we feel his confusion. This approach is effective especially because we do not see Matyas losing his identity, we feel it with him. Also, the film is even more gripping because we feel Matyas isn't only trying to recover something external (his family) but internal (his identity, his memories, etc...)
Flashbacks are treated in an interesting manner. Again, we see what Matyas sees, in flashes, here and there, as he slowly remembers what has happened in the first six years of his life. The shots are memorable, featuring the young twins, looking frail and grisly in black and white shots that feature an oppressively red scarf. The stark red color vivifies the flashback scenes. The use of the red motif is effective, especially because it means something as can be seen in the film.
A movie on twins is likely to explore the confusion of identities and do its best to confuse us in turn. It will also have that typical fight between the twins and at some point we just won't know who's who! It was a pleasure to see Claven avoid the usual pitfalls (they're exciting but they mean nothing and feel forced) such scenes involve.
The special effects are used effectively to get Benoît Magimel duplicated. We don't notice effects have been used and at times, the cinematography uses the effects to its advantage in some truly gorgeous shots that presents the brothers in violent embraces (arm wrestling, fighting, restraining each other). French critics were almost unanimous when they destroyed this film. Cleven defended “Trouble" at the premiere, saying that if there aren't murky handheld shots, the appearance that the film has a low budget and some confusion, French critics will think that it's trying to be American and will automatically pan it. The film is indeed outstanding on the technical level despite its minuscule budget of 3, 5 million Euros. I agree with Cleven on that point. It was butchered undeservedly and merits to be seen.
Review by Michael Lasry.