For a film about identical-twin gynecologists who share a woman, David Cronenberg’s Dead Ringers was awfully psychological. Conversely, for a film about identical-twin psychologists who share a woman, François Ozon’s latest is awfully gynecological. The film practically opens on a shot of a speculum-spread opening, and most of the drama is based on what’s happening or has happened in various wombs. Most of the action, however, involves the sort of activity that immediately precedes conception — either the lead up to, the fallout from, the issues surrounding, or the act itself. Pretty protagonist Chloé loves sweet and tender Paul but prefers sex with his rougher, ruder brother Louis, and the interior tension that results starts manifesting in her stomach, the not-so-proverbial “second brain.” Ozon revels in the visual opportunities presented by the story (which is based loosely on Joyce Carol Oates’ Lives of the Twins): compare-and-contrast offices and wardrobes, bodies multiplied by mirrors and otherwise, etc. And while it’s tricky to call him a moralist — the characters seem to be able to do little besides yield to their drives, and he seems pleased to depict it in frank and loving detail — it’s clear from the shattering conclusion that he’s not inclined to let anyone off the psychosexual hook. (2017) — Matthew Lickona
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