User reviews

Greetings again from the darkness. Twins often have their own language or way of communicating. However, sisters June and Jennifer Gibbons of Wales took this to a new level, creating a mysterious dark connection that no one else every understood. Andrea Siegel has adapted the screenplay from Marjorie Wallace's book, and Polish director Agnieszka Smoczynska (THE LURE 2015) delivers the style and creep factor, while missing out on answering the questions raised with the story.

The young sisters are seen giving a fake radio broadcast, and we get a glimpse of their awkward behavior during childhood ... behavior that left their parents and siblings feeling helpless. Letitia Wright (BLACK PANTHER, 2018) and Tamara Lawrance (KINDRED, 2020) take over as teenage June and Jennifer, respectively. While the young ones are well cast, it's the work of Ms. Wright and Ms. Lawrance that keep this one watchable despite the meandering. The awkward behavior of adolescents evolves into bizarre behavior of teens, and ultimately criminal behavior and some type of mental illness.

Pure elation of a new typewriter is all too quickly erased by irritation and anger that leads to fighting, or worse. Director Smoczynska does well to use stop motion animation periodically in helping to explain what's happening with the two girls. Child psychologists have no luck breaking through and the sisters are ultimately separated and locked away at Broadmoor psychiatric hospital by age 19. By this time, it's difficult not to view them as psychopaths.

It's interesting to watch as these two survive on the fringes of society in near mental isolation, and use writing as a creative outlet to unleash their inner thoughts. We never really know if we should have empathy for the girls, and that becomes even more difficult given their later behavior. Journalist Marjorie Wallace (played here by Jodhi May) documented her interactions with the sisters, but we can't help but wonder if this story is better told in documentary form - despite the strong work from Letitia Wright and Tamara Lawrance.

Opens in theaters on September 16, 2022.

I went into this movie thinking it would be a story of triumph and redemption after a hard isolated life, and it was in a way... This story is much darker than I'd anticipated. These two girls had clear struggles and no one seemed to be able to help them. They lived in their own world of beautiful fantasy, while the world around them was cold and at many times disturbing. I almost stopped watching because I had not been ready to feel the strange unsettling nature of this film, but I'm very glad I didn't.

This story will stay with me for a good while.

Hard to watch at times. Fascinating. Heartbreaking. True.

This is a film inspired by true events and is not a documentary to many people's dismay. Most people have the wrong expectations about the style of this film and give it a bad review. I accepted the filmmakers choice to use non-twins for this film. Telling a story like this with this type of artistic creativity could be confusing for people that can't tell twins apart. What this film does bring to the viewer is highlights of some of the bigger moments in the twins lives while occasionally using some art and claymation to emphasize parts of the story being told, and I accepted the use of claymation as a dramatic effect that could resemble the imaginations of the twins, and the inspiration for the music and scoring was quite acceptable and appropriately sets the tone for your emotions. I did think the acting was very good, and when they were silent they easily were able to covey the right expressions to keep me engaged and aware of each twin's reactions and emotions.

First the good, the acting is great, I think everyone gives strong performances, no weak links here, also the cinematography is great, some really nice shots and coloring, kudos to the technical team, unfortunately what good is all of this if the story isn't compelling enough, i've seen short films where the acting is less than stellar but great plots that pull you in and make up for weak acting, the problem is these sisters just aren't that interesting, simple as that, or maybe they are, but the writing oddly made this film one dimensional and linear with its plot. We fail to connect with the characters ultimately, and the film just plods along. Honestly the Wikipedia entry is more interesting.

The movie is captivating as an entertainment, but a quick google search informed me it bears little on reality, despite the filmmaker's claim it's based entirely on facts; and the facts call for anything but entertainment. The problem is that she avoids the horrific story of the sisters, making a movie out of their fantasies stemming from post-traumatic psychosis. During a talk she said she wanted to dispel the general narrative of the "evil twins" and tell the story of artists. Indeed they're incredibly perceptive if what is depicted is true: the film begins with psychological insights by the girls of which most adults would be incapable, and which I found hard to believe.

The director abruptly ended the talk on the note that the surviving sister is still "creative", having republished her book and written a short story. I didn't get a chance to ask whether she's made any real psychological progress. The movie depicts her looking happy while taking ballet lessons.

There are certainly interesting themes like the bond between the sisters and how one mysteriously died out of a wish to free her twin sister - again, I only became aware of that during the talk. The film itself is diluted by pop songs and such.

The story calls for a director like Haneke.

If a person is mistreated physically or emotionally, it might warrant some anti-social behavior. But as I viewed this film, which was nicely photographed, I could not help but wonder what was causing this type of behavior from the twins. I suspect one of the twins generally took the lead in negative reactions, and the other followed; at least that is what I perceived as I viewed the events. There seemed to be a complete lack of civility on the part of both twins. Not EVERYONE they came into contact with was an ogre. The inability to discern the difference between an unpleasant person you do not wish to talk to, from a perfectly innocuous person who wishes only to say hello to you was a point of disappointment for me. I lost my sympathy for both of them at that time. View for yourself if interested.

In a world that's alien and quite distressed, two girls decide how their time will invest, shunning prejudice and hate, they are the masters of their fate, no matter how hard others push and poke and press. In a world that they create to hide and shelter, they're each other's guardian, trustee, curator; but fighting against the tide, just brings torrents that collide, with the damage acting as a separator.

What an incredible piece of filmmaking with two outstanding leads by two incredible actors. For me, I'm happy for the director to have used some poetic licence, if I want the facts verbatim I'll watch a documentary or read a biography, but I'm a lot more engaged with a presentation that allows some interpretation and inspires me to investigate further. Those two performances are top drawer!

I read the book this morning and the film adaptation uses a good amount of material from it but it was published in 1986. The author is represented near the end and she is sympathetic to the plight of the twins.

Letitia Wright and Tamara Lawrance are exceptional as the sisters with one major caveat. The real-life women were identical twins and the actresses look nothing alike.

Their deep connection was largely due to the fact that they were so similar in both physical appearance and personality.

The style of the film, with a few sequences done with claymation just did not work for me. The lead actresses are the only reason to see The Silent Twins.

I hated that the movie didn't portray this as A true story. This is about identical twins who had a hard life And I believe the movie portrayed this as a joke.

It was a lot of unbelieving moments in this movie and this language they had them speaking sometimes was ridiculous. One moment tenet would be talking somewhat with a British accent and the next I need the captions on to catch this ridiculous language. The caption couldn't even catch all the words because they were NOT words being spoken.

When I first saw the documentary a few years ago I was hoping someone would write a great movie about these twins. But it didn't happen. I was disappointed in the movie.

I'm sorry for being so judgemental, but these twins were annoying. It is ok to be quiet when necessary, it is even ok not to respond to people you aren't comfortable with/don't like/make you upset. BUT...these 2 crossed all boundaries and chose to just not speak to anyone - at all. Going so far as just not only going mute but not moving and having to physically be moved around. That, to me, is ridiculous and manipulative. I don't doubt these 2 had major mental health issues - but they are no heroes in my book! They acted out in a spoiled manner by literally ignoring everyone in life but each other.

This is a film that deserves the screen time however it leaves you with too many questions if you aren't already familiar with the real life tradgedy that this was. The identical twin sisters had a heavy accent from there culture that they were shunned and made out to be a circus act in a predominantly white school. They basically could not fit in and in the middle and end so many people were able to study, dissect, and write books based on them to profit off the fact that if they had just been treated with an ounce of dignity for speech classes as children their entire lives would have been different.

I could not bring myself to watch. I've seen documentaries on these young ladies and their story is remarkable and captivating. However, I have concerns as to why the director or casting crew could not find identical twins to play the role. From their childhood to young adulthood the twins are not portrayed by twins at all. This for many is a useless oversight but for me it's offensive. Cleary these actresses may have similar skin tones, hair color, eye color and maybe closely matched on weight and height. But they do NOT look alike. Surely, they could have found African American twins from just about all age groups to play this part. Yes, I'm referring to trained actresses. At least five come to mind. I refuse to try and trick my brain into thinking these people are identical throughout the whole movie. I'm way too tired for that.

Wow really? This is less about twins and more about two black girls doing that thing. I am an identical twin and If anything twins have the courage and motivation to involve themselves in society and do everything they can to be individuals. This story is complete make-believe. My brother and I grew up in a very twin progressive environment and the last thing we wanted was to be viewed as the same person and identical on all issues. The story as the movie portrays it is kind of a step back for twins and more of a politically correct view of two black girls attempting to overcome obstacles. The bottom line is the movie doesn't show the true obstacles twins face day in and day out. They leverage the label of twins, throw a few colored actors into the mix, and then portray it as a true story about identity. The reality is I love being a twin, and there is nothing more I would love than to be distinctly identified separate from my twin. This is a step back for those of us in the identical twin community. Shame on Amazon for portraying this bogus representation of our community.

A very weird biopic about the twin sisters who remained silent to the outside world while creating their own imaginary worlds in writing. Letitia Wright and Tamara Lawrance give brilliant performances capturing their unique mannerisms as well as the inward and outward bursts of emotions. But while the story itself is interesting, the choice of an almost surreal narrative with interludes of stop motion animations of the stories by the sisters gives a fitting vibe of the sisters to the whole movie it still feels incomplete. The beginning itself is very sudden in terms of having no context of what's happening and yet not really putting the audience in the middle of the events. It felt more like they had all the ideas right but the execution didn't reach where it should have. This should have been a much longer movie but it doesn't seem there's anything cut down because the film just doesn't feel like it has much more to say even though the story feels incomplete at every point. If they wanted to reflect the way the sisters actually communicated with the world by not giving all the information, this should have been much more surreal than this. Otherwise, it should have been a more straighter biopic where there's a little bit more space for the other characters. Here it just feels like the makers didn't really know what to do with the material and made a half baked attempt at it.

I am an identical twin. Understanding them was easy. I felt that bond as a child. The language they created, the words they conveyed to one another without speaking, the worlds they lived in, and the metaphorical dance they endlessly performed was something my twin and I had. The difference was that we grew out of that special closeness, the bubble that we inhabited eventually popped. The film takes us on a similar journey, flawlessly, as if the twins produced it themselves. The direction, script, acting, costumes, art direction, score, and cinematography all masterfully come together to recreate their perfectly delicate and complicated twin-dom. This is a brilliant film, a delicious character study that will touch you deeply... if you let it.

I can't believe that the IMDb rating is so low on this film, I think it will become a cult classic in a few years. The two young girls in this were amazing. The way they got across how these girls invested their time in this secrecy blanket - to keep themselves same from a White supremacy world full of prejudice and hate, they were truly the masters of their fate. No matter how hard others push and poke and press, they did not crack - they are an icon for resistance.

In a world that they created to hide and shelter, each other - my tears poured down.

What an incredible piece of filmmaking and the two older Gibbon's girl/women were outstanding leads and these two incredible actors deserved the BAFTA's they received. For me, the director did a fantastic job, which was really quite poetic. I was very engaged with this presentation and the interpretation of the twins lives, which used their own creativity, this is truly an inspiring film and needs more love than its currently getting.

I knew nothing about June and Jennifer Gibbons before watching this. Apparently there have been other tellings of their story on the screen and stage, but it still feels like a fresh story. Beautifully shot and acted.

There's something relatable to their story. I definitely would see how long I could go without speaking as a kid, not that I ever made it more than a day or two. You see the young kids deal with being outsiders, bullying, and how happy they seem when they were isolated and using their imagination. I found it incredibly sad, wishing I could befriend them, hoping they succeed in their creative endeavors.

It's not the most direct, action filled storyline but I found myself invested throughout. I really enjoyed the cinematography, at times diving into their imaginations. Overall, it's something I would definitely watch again. It felt different than most things I've seen recently.

I found every moment of this film captivating. As an identical twin whose twin died at birth, I am uniquely qualified to evaluate twin behavior. You see, I move through the world differently. Othered. Half of me absent. Severed. So when I observe their rich, dynamic inner world in their bedroom, I see a gorgeous imaginative life, sequestered, but rich and unspoiled by the gross ministrations of outside cultural influence. The filmmaker captures the intimacy between identical twins that can only be articulated through art, dance, play, or music. "You will never find joy if you want to be alone." They are so wonderfully weird...when viewed through societal norms. But their silence isn't loss. Nor is it sad. This film is neither reckless nor subversive of their challenges. Rather it articulates almost flawlessly their playful, desperately painful yearning for authenticity in the world that most people shy away from. I haven't seen a film this engrossing in over a decade. As a writer, I don't merely understand them. I am them. And I applaud and grieve their choice to shun their loved ones while simultaneously wishing I had the courage to live such a deeply rich inner life, isolated and unspoiled. The soundtrack weaves beautifully in tandem with their creative evolution. A lovely and endearing surprise. Ignore the critics. Settle in with a glass of wine. Don't tell anyone you're watching it. Keep it secret. Keep it close.

I seen a little glimpse about the twins on YouTube years ago and that is what caught my eyes to watch this film. I loved it, though I feel more is missing in the movie such as the conversation the twins had with each other about who needed to die and how they started to be silent and shut the rest of the world out. It's extremely terrible and horrible life they lived and being locked away just because they wouldn't speak and the treatment they received when they were younger from other kids just because the color of their skin. I read about the twins and some important details was left out, but I guess because it's a movie they couldn't fit everything on one film. Overall, I give it a 10 still because it was well done just needed more.