Twin Falls Idaho

"Twin Falls, Idaho" is a very well made film with unusual depth and complex emotional content. It is absolutely a must see for anyone wanting more than your usual Hollywood fodder and fluff. A different sort of Love Story and a gritty look at a uniquely off-center topic. The Characters are often somewhat surreal, but not to the point of being ridiculous or unbelievable, this said same surrealism serves to make the imagery and story all the more powerful. The Hopeful and "Best of Humanity" themes and messages underlying the main story are clear to anyone that watches this fine piece of work. Casting and Cinematography are exceptional. And the stand out performance without a doubt goes to the lovely Michele Hicks as Penny as well as fine performances by Mark and Michael Polish as the Twins. One of the Best Films I have seen in quite a long time.

source: Twin Falls Idaho

Trailer—Twin Falls Idaho

Twin Falls Idaho

I cannot stab at how many films I own. However, I can easily assess how many have kept me from getting up for a beer or pausing the tape to excuse myself. Trust that even my most sincere favorites compel me to both. But, not this one. I did not move. I did not pause. I did not pee. I did not drink. I held fast, hypnotized and paralyzed, until the brief runtime expired. How movies like this one, rare as they are, escape the accolades of The Academy will always befuddle me. Albeit, there are a thin few like this. I can scarcely explain how gripped I was from the beginning to the end of this, a TRUE cinematic jewel cached. I am a proud owner, advocate and promoter of Twin Falls Idaho.

Siamese twin brother falls in love with hooker with a heart of gold? Okay, I was willing to go with it. Every part of my being was trying to warn me, but, I really wanted to like this film. And, to the credit of the Polish brothers (writer/director/stars of this opus), they pull it off...for about 20 minutes. The greatest problem with the indie film movement is, that everybody thinks they're making great art. I wonder if the Polish brothers were sitting in the editing room, thinking to themselves (like I was), "there's no earthly reason for these two people to fall in love! We haven't given either character the opportunity to get to know each other, much less fall in love! But, hey, we're making indie films here! We don't need rhyme or reason!" Mark and Michael Polish DO deliver halfway decent performances - though I'd rather have seen Michael in the lead. The other performances are marred by chintzy dialogue that was cliche 50 years ago. All in all, a complete waste of time.

most astonishing of all is how this project ever attracted the energy and resources to get off the ground, on the page, on set, on the screen, on to dvd (with such lavish treatment from Columbia-TriStar)! Sure, it's sooo intentionaly HIP - the somber, muted, shadowy gungy urbania, a course of visual cult cues and obvious references kept me sighing and rolling my eyes... and wishing for some tension, some engagement, some smart dialog...YIKES! Sadly, almost two hours of this lifetime I'll never recover.

An almost watchable movie with only one or two lines of decent dialogue (which are milked by repeating them at the end). It concerns Siamese twins, joined at the torso but with separate heads, identities, one hand each and three legs. The serious subject matter is barely explored, although the twin brothers who play the twins act very convincingly (they also direct and write the movie). On of the brothers falls in love with a tart-with-a-heart and this creates some friction and jealousy between the two brothers - who came into the world together and have planned to leave together. One brother is strong, whereas the other is of failing health. Poetically, we are reminded that there are no sad stories, it is just that the author stopped writing - the story goes on - it's just untold. The story of Twin Falls Idaho goes on a bit too long in places without a storyteller, but at least it airs a very difficult subject and brings it into public view.

Penny (Michele Hicks) is a prostitute hired for Francis Falls (Michael Polish). When she gets there, she finds Francis and Blake Falls (Mark Polish) are actually conjoined twins living in a rundown hotel. She runs away at first but she has to go back to retrieve her purse. Blake is the stronger one while Francis' health declines. On Halloween, the brothers go out to see their mother (Lesley Ann Warren). Penny runs into them at a diner and she takes them out to a party. The Polish brothers have created an unique looking film. First there are the Siamese brothers. They are absolutely original and very compelling. The brother filmmakers use the haunted model looks of Michele Hicks to the fullest. She started late with her acting career after modeling but she shows some skills. There is a lot of whisper acting, and slow pacing. This has a memorable look and a strange tone. And it is their humanity that shows through.

I was surprised to find out everyone who's seen this movie thought it was amazing. Because the dialog was BEYOND bad, not to mention the acting sub par. First, NO conjoined twins have ever looked that good in real life. Second, the dialog was blatantly bad, including one of my favorite lines at a Halloween party, "This is the only day of the year they're normal." Everything that could stereotypical in your mind go for a couple of conjoined twins, goes wrong in the span of this movie. People taking pictures while they sit in the park, them being approached and the attempt made to make them into freak show superstars. And at the end, when he was living with the other freaks in the like run down abandoned circus? Come on. There's a STRAY ELEPHANT. I couldn't even tell my friend that ending without laughing. Not to mention the editing was awful and jumpy from shot to shot. A lot of time scenes lacked cohesiveness.