LOS ANGELES: “Dead Ringers,” Amazon Prime Video’s remake of David Cronenberg’s 1988 psychological thriller, touches on some thematic elements from the original while still maintaining its modernized style.
The six-episode limited series launched on the platform on April 21 and has since garnered fans across the world for its acting and boundary-pushing storyline.
“It’s very provocative. It’s a thriller, sexy. We handle a lot of tough subject matters as well at times. I’m quite a big David Cronenberg fan, and I was familiar with the film. I’d watched it a handful of years before and actually rewatched it when I booked this,” said actress Britne Oldford, who plays Genevieve in the series.
The story is of two identical twin sisters, both played by Rachel Weisz, who share a successful gynecology practice and a dark past. As their relationship becomes increasingly twisted and obsessive, they become embroiled in a dangerous web of deceit and betrayal that threatens to destroy everything they’ve worked for.
“There’s lots of contradictions in their characters. So, they’re both brilliant at their jobs, at the top of their game. And then in their private lives, they’re, you know, different shades of dysfunctional and twisted, kind of messed up things,” said Weisz, who plays the Mantle Twins, who are depicted as women in the remake with Jeremy Irons playing the twin doctors in the original film.
“And then we had the technical challenge of bringing that to the screen. And there was a whole crew that supported the twins and the performances to do that,” added the actress, who is also the executive producer of the show.
Emmy-nominated writer and playwright Alice Birch served as showrunner on the series which aims to bring women’s health care to the forefront as the lead characters push the boundaries on medical ethics and attempt to challenge antiquated birthing practices.
“I think it was very important for us and interesting to show birthing and maternal health in the truthful way because it’s something that one doesn’t see,” Weisz noted, adding: “I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’ve learned a lot about sort of my womanhood and my strength.”
