Title – Three Identical Strangers (2018)

Director – Tim Wardle (Lifers: Channel 4 Cutting Edge)

Cast – Robert Shafran, Eddy Galland, David Kellman

Plot – The true story of triplets Robert, Eddy and David who never knew about each other until they were 19 year’s old having been separated at birth and fostered out to different families.

“I think that nurture can overcome nearly everything”

Review by Eddie on 28/02/2019

One of those true life stories that is absolutely stranger than fiction, Three Identical Strangers tells the bizarre true story of American triplets Eddy, David and Robert, who until the age of 19 had no idea they had a brother, let alone two brothers after they were adopted as babies.

By complete chance these brothers came to know each other and subsequently entered into each other’s lives, finding out they were indeed as you would expect, much alike and instant friends.

British director Tim Wardle throws us headfirst into this story as David and Robert recount the time the triplets lives changed forever, setting them up also as nationally known figures and the two brothers make for humanly relatable central figures and Wardle doesn’t get lost on details that matter little to the story moving forward, a story that takes some even more bizarre turns as we get to hear about the circumstances that led to the brothers being separated in the first place.

It’s within this that Wardle’s doco becomes an even more interesting proposition, as the true nature of these twins separation becomes apparent and the film begins to ask some thought provoking questions about the very concept of nature vs nurture and how our human lives are in many ways shaped and formed in ways we will never fully understand.

It’s amazing how much these brothers, who grew up separated, have in common yet amazing also the effect their respective foster parents and raising had on each individual brother, turning Wardle’s examination of the triplets story into one of those documentaries that will touch each and every viewer in a different way and make you reflect on those that have shaped your life and what that means to you as a fully formed adult.

Three Identical Strangers in many ways isn’t the most ground-breaking or revelatory documentary of modern times or even the most proficient but it’s messages and findings make it a must-watch for anyone with even a passing interest in this beyond bizarre true story.

Final Say –

A seemingly intimate story about three brothers who found solace in one another, that turns into a more wide-reaching expose of life and family, Three Identical Strangers is an often fascinating and touching documentary that will need to be seen to be believed.

3 ½ Marlboro cigarettes out of 5