THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS

(director: Tim Wardle; cinematographer: Tim Cragg; editor: Michael Harte; music: Paul Saunderson; Runtime: 96; MPAA Rating: PG-13; producers: Becky Read, Grace Hughes-Hallett; NeonLaboratories; 2018-UK)

“A stranger than fiction documentary based on a true story.“

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

A stranger than fiction documentary based on a true story, that’s directed by Tim Wardle. Identical triplets, Bobby, Eddy and David, have been separated at birth. By accident in 1980 they find each other. The 19-year-old Bobby Shafron attends for the first time a Westchester community college in NY and is mistaken for Eddy Gallant by classmates. A photo of them is taken and appears in the NY Post. A young woman calls her friend David Kellman and says, “These guys look just like you!” Before you know it the triplets are reunited. The joyous documentary (to a point) fills in all that then happened since reuniting, recounting their surprising tale with interviews and archive footage and how eerie things turn when the triplets discover they were part of a secret unethical psychological experiment on parenting for those who adopted twins or triplets from this now defunct agency.Apparently the three boys had been adopted from the same corrupt agency by separate pairs of parents who knew nothing of the real situation, and by the boys following this up it becomes a hokey and mind-blowing tale that leaves them feeling violated.

REVIEWED ON 1/1/2019 GRADE: B+     https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/