Three Identical Strangers (2018)
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Three identical-triplet brothers separated at birth discover each other and uncover a secret scientific study regarding their upbringing.
The story
The film follows the lives of Edward Galland, David Kellman, and Robert Shafran, three identical-triplet brothers who were adopted as infants by separate families. In 1980, the brothers discovered one another by chance in New York. The documentary combines archival footage, re-enacted scenes, and present-day interviews to recount their lives in the years following their reunion. The narrative explores their shared experiences and the eventual revelation that their separation was not a coincidence, but part of a secret scientific study on the effects of different socioeconomic environments on genetically identical siblings.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The film begins with Robert Shafran discovering he has a twin brother in 1980 after being mistaken for Edward Galland at a college in New York. The two realize they were both adopted and quickly conclude they are twins. Months later, David Kellman is contacted, and the three realize they are identical triplets. They share many similarities, including tastes in food and cigarettes, and they briefly become a media sensation, even opening a restaurant together. However, the film reveals that their separation was part of a secret 'nature versus nurture' study by psychiatrists Peter B. Neubauer and Viola W. Bernard. The infants were intentionally placed in different socioeconomic environments—one blue-collar, one middle-class, and one affluent—without the parents' knowledge. The study's results were never published and remain sealed until 2066. The film concludes by noting that while Kellman and Shafran gained access to the files, they are heavily redacted and contain no formal conclusions. The film also touches on the tragic reality that Galland died by suicide in 1995.
- First release year
- 2018
- Runtime (minutes)
- 96
- Production countries
- United States; United Kingdom
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Tim Wardle
- Cast and characters
- Edward Galland · Edward Galland; David Kellman · David Kellman; Robert Shafran · Robert Shafran
- Genres
- documentary
- Themes
- Nature vs. Nurture; Identity; Ethics of human experimentation; Family
- Tone and mood
- Surreal; Surprising
- Setting
- New York and upstate New York, 1980 to 1995.
- Premise and plot tags
- Documentary; Adoption; Identical Triplets; Medical Ethics
- Source material / true-story basis
- The unpublished Neubauer twin experiment, a 1995 New Yorker article, and the 2007 memoir 'Identical Strangers'.
- Content notes
- Suicide
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews, with a 96% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 81/100 score on Metacritic, earning 'universal acclaim'.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 96% · scale: percentage · review count: 190; Metacritic · score: 81 · scale: 100 · review count: 30
- Awards and nominations
- U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Storytelling · Special Jury Award · Win; British Academy Film Awards · Best Documentary · Nomination
- Production trivia
- The study's records remain sealed until 2066.; A dramatic feature film based on the story is in development.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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