CNN produced Three Identical Strangers along with Neon, which is a weird mix of sleepy and sexy. The documentary is as conflicted as that partnership. For some reason I thought this was going to be a docudrama in the spirit of American Animals and I suffered as a result of that expectation.
The drama of TIS stems from the stereoscopic feelings of joy and terror that arise as a result of the discovery of separated triplets. The documentary leans heavily on the suicide narrative of one of the triplets and an attempt to psychoanalyze why it happened, which is sort of spun out for too long. Their lack of closure should not reflect the film’s lack of resolution.
Interviews with reporter Lawrence Wright driving around endlessley in his car and dusting off books in his study are a little underwhelming, even though the reporting itself is fire. For three brothers who apparently were such viral phenomenon in the 80s, they sure reused a lot of footage, sometimes three or four times. Worth reading whatever reporting’s been done about the government’s involvement in human experiments on this point, but beyond that, save yourself the time and see Teen Titans Go! instead.
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