It is a well-known fact among my family and friends that I love any movie with even a grain of truth in it, so when I heard about “Three Identical Strangers,” I jumped at the chance to see it. At first, the story is almost unbelievable when Robert Shafran, 19, goes to college and everyone mistakes him for someone named Eddie Galland. After a few questions, a friend quickly figures out that they are twins, so they hop in the car for a long night drive and the twins meet for the first time. The connection between the two is instantaneous and the media picks up on the story. When a third triplet, David Kellman, recognizes himself in the photos of the reunited twins, the story takes on an unbelievable life of its own. The reunion between the triplets is remarkable and the joy it evoked made the audience laugh. They became media darlings and their similarities seemed uncanny. The triplets lived the high life in New York, where they opened a restaurant called “Triplets,” got married, and stayed connected until a tragedy occurs.
The story takes a dark turn when the triplets discover that they were part of a secretive study, where twins were separated and then studied throughout their lives, to see in part the nature versus nurture part of science. The study apparently started in 1960 and ran through 1980, when the triplet’s reunion came to light. Even though journalists and study participants have petitioned to get the details and results of the study, they are locked in a vault at Yale University and are only now starting to be released.
What starts out as such a remarkable coincidence turns into something much more sinister as the documentary unfolds. This is an interesting movie with twists that are sure to keep you thinking about the nuances long after you leave the theater.
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Genre: Documentary
Director: Tim Wardle
Actors: Silvi Alzetta-Reali, Eddy Galland, Ron Guttman, David Kellman, Adrian Lichter, Robert Shafran, Andrew Lovesey, Rachel VanDuzer
Running Time: 96 minutes
Rating: PG-13
