Once in a while a documentary will be released that features an incredibly original story that will grip you from the outset. Such is the case with Three Identical Strangers, Tom Wardle's fascinating but tragic tale of triplets separated at birth. If you haven't seen it, read this review afterward, as I intend to discuss some of the primary twists and turns in the real-life plot.
It begins as a feel good story which can be likened to the birth of the Beatles. It's 1980 and we meet Bobby Shafran, son of a physician, who drives up in his beat up Volvo to attend his first semester at Sullivan County Community College in upstate New York. When he arrives on campus, he's greeted by numerous people who seem to already know him-even though this is Bobby's first day at school.
Soon it becomes clear that Bobby is mistaken for another kid who looks exactly like him with the same date of birth named Eddy Galland, who attended the school a semester before. An acquaintance of Eddy puts two and two together and realizes Eddy is Bobby's twin. He drives Bobby down to Long Island where Eddy and Bobby meet each other for the first time. They instantly bond and the story makes the NY papers.
But the story doesn't end there. Relatives of a third kid, David Kelland, recognize that he too resembles the two "twins." David also has the same birthday as the others and before you know it, the three are reunited as long lost triplets. The three together are utterly charming and appear on the talk show circuit, where common foibles are highlighted (they all smoke Marlboros and have the same taste in women!). Archival footage from that time reveal the triplets becoming fast celebrities and when they're a few years older, they open a restaurant together in New York City.
The story suddenly grows dark. It turns out that the triplets were placed by the (now defunct) Louise Wise Services, which specialized in placing unwanted Jewish infants in new homes. The triplets were actually the subject of a secret experiment conducted by a noted psychiatrist, Peter Neubauer who was attempting to explore the old "nature versus nurture" argument. Unbeknownst to the triplets, each was placed in homes of a different socio-economical class (Bobby was from an upper middle class home, Eddy from middle class parents and David placed with a lower class family).
Much is made of the seemingly insidious decision by Dr. Neubauer to conduct the experiment, which is likened to a Nazi-like mentality. Ironically, Neubauer was a Holocaust survivor, and according to one of the young assistants involved with Neubauer's original team, such experiments were not considered morally repugnant at the time (as they are now). Apparently a psychological study such as this one was highly regarded as it was justified in the name of and under the rubric of "scientific study." Before his death in 2008, Neubauer was reached by a investigative journalist featured in the film and predictably declined to discuss his involvement in the project.
It wasn't surprising that the triplets' relationship eventually soured after one of them decided to leave the restaurant business. Family members confirmed early problems with the triplets as infants-they all reacted badly to the separation anxiety and displayed various emotional problems. Like the Beatles at the time of their breakup, the brothers' differences eventually rose to the surface.
Despite the hereditary influence, it was the triplets' nurturance that eventually led to their breakup. Of all the fathers, Eddy's was regarded as the strictest but certainly he cannot be blamed for what eventually happened to his son who began displaying symptoms of manic-depression. One day, in the film's most dramatic and tragic moment, Eddy committed suicide at his home. Eddy was perhaps the most sensitive of the three but eventually I think it was a problem with "body chemistry" that led to the dark moods that caused him to take his life.
If the documentary has a weakness, it's in the second half, when a good deal of the archival footage is repeated to highlight the "end" of the "good times." I also wanted to know what the surviving triplets were doing in more recent times.
This is a fascinating story that should not be missed by documentary aficionados.
It begins as a feel good story which can be likened to the birth of the Beatles. It's 1980 and we meet Bobby Shafran, son of a physician, who drives up in his beat up Volvo to attend his first semester at Sullivan County Community College in upstate New York. When he arrives on campus, he's greeted by numerous people who seem to already know him-even though this is Bobby's first day at school.
Soon it becomes clear that Bobby is mistaken for another kid who looks exactly like him with the same date of birth named Eddy Galland, who attended the school a semester before. An acquaintance of Eddy puts two and two together and realizes Eddy is Bobby's twin. He drives Bobby down to Long Island where Eddy and Bobby meet each other for the first time. They instantly bond and the story makes the NY papers.
But the story doesn't end there. Relatives of a third kid, David Kelland, recognize that he too resembles the two "twins." David also has the same birthday as the others and before you know it, the three are reunited as long lost triplets. The three together are utterly charming and appear on the talk show circuit, where common foibles are highlighted (they all smoke Marlboros and have the same taste in women!). Archival footage from that time reveal the triplets becoming fast celebrities and when they're a few years older, they open a restaurant together in New York City.
The story suddenly grows dark. It turns out that the triplets were placed by the (now defunct) Louise Wise Services, which specialized in placing unwanted Jewish infants in new homes. The triplets were actually the subject of a secret experiment conducted by a noted psychiatrist, Peter Neubauer who was attempting to explore the old "nature versus nurture" argument. Unbeknownst to the triplets, each was placed in homes of a different socio-economical class (Bobby was from an upper middle class home, Eddy from middle class parents and David placed with a lower class family).
Much is made of the seemingly insidious decision by Dr. Neubauer to conduct the experiment, which is likened to a Nazi-like mentality. Ironically, Neubauer was a Holocaust survivor, and according to one of the young assistants involved with Neubauer's original team, such experiments were not considered morally repugnant at the time (as they are now). Apparently a psychological study such as this one was highly regarded as it was justified in the name of and under the rubric of "scientific study." Before his death in 2008, Neubauer was reached by a investigative journalist featured in the film and predictably declined to discuss his involvement in the project.
It wasn't surprising that the triplets' relationship eventually soured after one of them decided to leave the restaurant business. Family members confirmed early problems with the triplets as infants-they all reacted badly to the separation anxiety and displayed various emotional problems. Like the Beatles at the time of their breakup, the brothers' differences eventually rose to the surface.
Despite the hereditary influence, it was the triplets' nurturance that eventually led to their breakup. Of all the fathers, Eddy's was regarded as the strictest but certainly he cannot be blamed for what eventually happened to his son who began displaying symptoms of manic-depression. One day, in the film's most dramatic and tragic moment, Eddy committed suicide at his home. Eddy was perhaps the most sensitive of the three but eventually I think it was a problem with "body chemistry" that led to the dark moods that caused him to take his life.
If the documentary has a weakness, it's in the second half, when a good deal of the archival footage is repeated to highlight the "end" of the "good times." I also wanted to know what the surviving triplets were doing in more recent times.
This is a fascinating story that should not be missed by documentary aficionados.