8. Dead Ringers (1988)
Elliot and Beverly Mantle (both played by Jeremy Irons) are top notch gynaecologists. Elliot is the more confident and aggressive twin who seduces women that come to the clinic and then, when he is tired of them, passes them onto Beverly. A troubled woman named Claire comes into the clinic with fertility problems. Elliot seduces her and then passes her onto Beverly. Beverly becomes very fond of Claire and this upsets the equilibrium between the brothers. When she leaves to act in a film, Beverly descends into a deep depression, drug and alcohol abuse, paranoid delusions and an obsession with women who have deformed lady bits. He commissions a steel worker for a set of tools to work on 'mutant' women. After he goes nuts in the operating theatre, Beverly is placed on leave. Elliot tries to help his brother - even taking drugs to be on the same playing field as him. Claire returns and Beverly's condition improves while Elliot's deteriorates. The clinic falls to pieces and Elliot is messed up and depressed. The twins are both high on drugs and celebrate their 'birthday'. Beverly disembowels Elliot and later dies in his arms. The problem between Hilary and Elliot is that they are too close as twins and the lines between where one twin stops and another begins are very blurred. Whenever Hilary falls for Claire he begins on a self destructive path, for the first time stepping out of his twin's shadow. But whenever the close ties between the brothers fray, they are empty vessels for self destruction and suicide, neither of them able to live without the other and both damned to implode.