Three Identical Strangers (2018)
93%RT Audience Score: 88%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys
11 wins & 59 nominations total
Surreal and surprising, Three Identical Strangers effectively questions the nature of reality and identity.
If you’re looking for a documentary that will make you question everything you thought you knew about nature vs. nurture, then Three Identical Strangers is the film for you. This movie tells the unbelievable true story of triplets who were separated at birth and reunited years later, only to discover that their lives had been manipulated by a sinister scientific experiment. It’s a wild ride that will keep you on the edge of your seat, and you won’t be able to stop talking about it with your friends afterwards. Just be prepared to have your mind blown!
Production Company(ies)
Eisei Gekijo Hakuhodo Nippon Shuppan Hanbai K. K.
Distributor
Neon, CNN Films
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
La Jolla, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for some mature thematic material
Year of Release
2018
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 36m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 29, 2018 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 2, 2018
Genre(s)
Documentary/Biography
Keyword(s)
documentary, biography, drama, separated at birth, triplets, adoption, reunion, secret, reality, identity, surreal, surprising, nature vs nurture, global sensation, radical repercussions, PG-13, English, Tim Wardle, directed by, Grace Hughes-Hallett, written by, Becky Read, produced by, Neon, CNN Films, box office, gross USA, $12.3M, critic reviews, reviewed by, Tomatometer, audience score, Robert Shafran, David Kellman, Lawrence Wright, Will Ennis, Scotty Murray, Silvi Alzetta-Reali, cast and crew, Claudia Puig, David Sexton, Suzi Feay, Ryan Gilbey, Mark Kermode, Kevin Maher, Daniel Howat, Brian Eggert, Taylor Baker, Hosea Rupprecht, Nathan Mattise, Carlos M, Philip P, Alec B, John C, horror movies, RT podcasts, Netflix series, MCU movies, TV premiere dates, worst horror movies, verified purchase, Fresh Kernels, Tomatometer, feedback, critic submission, licensing, advertise, careers, newsletter, Fandango
Worldwide gross: $13,448,497
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $15,825,838
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,798
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,725,828
US/Canada gross: $12,320,845
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $14,498,847
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,505
US/Canada opening weekend: $171,503
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $201,820
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,663
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
David Kellman – Self
Lawrence Wright – Self
Will Ennis – Self
Scotty Murray – Self
Silvi Alzetta-Reali – Self
Tim Wardle – Director
Grace Hughes-Hallett – Producer, Writer
Becky Read – Producer
Director(s)
Tim Wardle
Writer(s)
Grace Hughes-Hallett
Producer(s)
Grace Hughes-Hallett, Becky Read
Film Festivals
Sundance
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys
11 wins & 59 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (188) | Top Critics (57) | Fresh (181) | Rotten (7)
The cliché “stranger than fiction” is probably used a little too freely, but this really is that.
December 14, 2019
Claudia Puig
FilmWeek (KPCC – NPR Los Angeles)
TOP CRITIC
It combines interviews, archive footage and dramatic reconstructions to take us as close in to the story as possible, not coming to any conclusions. You won’t be able to look away.
February 28, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
David Sexton
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
This haunting documentary uncovers as much of the truth as is possible.
February 22, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
Suzi Feay
Financial Times
TOP CRITIC
Dramatises the nature vs nurture argument in a murky and intriguing way. If only its stylistic mannerisms didn’t threaten to obscure the storytelling.
January 26, 2019
Ryan Gilbey
New Statesman
TOP CRITIC
It was a story that was really well told… very engrossing.
December 4, 2018
Mark Kermode
Kermode & Mayo’s Film Review
TOP CRITIC
It never loses sight of the three scarred subjects at the core of the tale, and of the sense of profound injustice inflicted on blameless children. Unmissable.
December 3, 2018 | Rating: 5/5
Kevin Maher
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
This documentary manages to reveal surprise after surprise throughout the film, keeping the audience reeled in while posing important questions about how we become the people we are.
May 19, 2022 | Rating: 7/10
Daniel Howat
Next Best Picture
As many great documentaries do, Three Identical Strangers begins with a kernel of an idea and develops into something else, growing and expanding as it goes along, until the title feels almost inadequate.
March 11, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
…be skeptical of any project where sweeping claims are made about nature vs. nurture.
August 22, 2021 | Rating: 35/100
Taylor Baker
Drink in the Movies
As a person of faith watching this film, especially with an adopted brother of my own with his own amazing story, I was moved by the love the brothers in each other after so many years apart
August 13, 2021
Hosea Rupprecht
Pauline Center for Media Studies
Three Identical Strangers is best experienced blind, but be sure to have a few colleagues (or commenters) to discuss it with soon after.
July 28, 2021
Nathan Mattise
Ars Technica
It would be unfair to expect this movie to have a lot of answers.
February 18, 2021
Fletcher Powell
KMUW – Wichita Public Radio…
Plot
New York, 1980: three complete strangers accidentally discover that they are identical triplets, separated at birth. The 19-year-olds’ joyous reunion catapults them to international fame, but it also unlocks an extraordinary and disturbing secret that goes beyond their own lives – and could transform our understanding of human nature forever.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
Tim-Wardle.jpg
