The Silent Twins | They want silence (6.5/10)

Synopsis: Identical twins who refuse to communicate with those around them isolate themselves in art and end up committing misdeeds.

Adapted from a book by Marjorie Wallace, this infuriating true story could very well have been an ordinary TV movie, retracing how the British system ended up ostracizing two black women deemed “different”. Everything was in place for a feature film with a social and political content. Especially since heaviness is not uncommon and the conclusion surprisingly kitsch.

The screenplay by Andrea Seigel (Laggies) rather privileges its characters, following them without judging them, taking care not to fall into penny psychology. A part of mystery hangs over June and Jennifer Gibbons, fusion beings who try to resist the world around them. Their interpreters Letitia Wright (Black Panther) and Tamara Lawrance (Kindred) defend them with a conviction that honors them, becoming the heart and soul of the company.

The sis escapes from their boring, dark and lonely daily life by the power of their imagination, exchanging with each other without anyone hearing or understanding them. An escape that passes through the saving and liberating art, both that of music and that of writing. Suddenly, animations take over the screen, seducing with their haunting melancholy. Then the images shine with abundant colors. The process is not new – Lars von Trier had used it on Dancer in the Dark –, but it is still effective.

revealed with The Lurea stunning re-reading of The Little Mermaid who mixed horror, fantasy and musical comedy, Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Smoczynska might seem like a surprising choice for this much more conventional learning story. Like his previous and bold Fugue, she modulates her realization according to the subject, appropriating it by betting on her singularity to capture the human spirit. Already the scenario brought together all his obsessions: strong heroines who must rebuild themselves in a society whose landmarks they ignore by forging their own reality.

Ode to difference and freedom, The Silent Twins is not without wandering or dead time, nevertheless proving to be courageous and necessary when the time comes to revive the incredible destiny of two women who only longed for silence.

The Silent Twins is presented in the original English version.

Biographical drama

The Silent Twins

Agnieszka Smoczynska

With Letitia Wright, Tamara Lawrance, Nadine Marshall

1:53 a.m.
Indoors

6.5/10