 |
The “Brothers of the Head” are joined at the chest and share a liver. This clever film is a rarity: a mockumentary that’s not a comedy.
Conjoined twins Tom and Barry Howe are played by identical (but not conjoined) twins Harry and Luke Treadaway. Their natural stance is at approximate right angles to each other but their connecting tissue (impressive prosthetic work) is flexible enough for variations. Your eyes will pop when they do a cartwheel together.
Their individual and collective sex-lives are subliminally hinted at, but the homoerotic possibilities will haunt your dreams. One of the sexiest scenes is a photo shoot in which the brothers kiss each other as well as female models.
Tom and Barry are raised by their father and home schooled so they don’t have to risk being treated as freaks. They’re discovered by faded impresario Zak (Howard Attfield), who sees them as his ticket back to the big time.
Naming the act the Bang Bang, Zak hires documentary filmmaker Eddie Pasqua (Tom Bower) to record their every move (including sharing a bathtub, another erotic highlight).
It’s not clear how big the Bang Bang becomes during their 15 minutes of fame but of course a woman comes between them, literally and figuratively in this case.
The net effect is a package as bizarre and fascinating as its subject: “Hedwig” meets “Twin Falls, Idaho.” The music’s not very good. But there’s plenty of imagination. And the period stuff feels authentic enough to give you acid flashbacks.
S. W.
Grade: B
Opens Aug. 11 at the Angelika Dallas.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition, August 11, 2006.