The Canneseries event was fully taken over on Saturday by the premiere of Rachel Weisz’s new show “Dead Ringers,” for which she won an Oscar.
The Lumière Auditorium crowd in Cannes enthusiastically applauded after the first scene of the six-episode limited Prime Video series, which was created by Alice Birch. The first two episodes of the show frequently elicited laughs from viewers and used more profanity than Logan Roy used when speaking.
However, because of its thorough explanations of labour and medical procedures, it also caused a few walkouts. “Dead Ringers” is a fresh retelling of David Cronenberg’s 1988 adaptation of Bari Wood and Jack Geasland’s book “Twins,” which starred Jeremy Irons.
Weisz portrays the twins Beverly and Elliot, ambitious New York obstetricians who want to start a birthing centre that will fundamentally change the way things are done now. Even their most obvious commonalities start to fade in comparison to their differences as they struggle to make it happen.
But before that, There will be drugs, sex, excellent kombucha, and Weisz giving it her all. Both as meat-loving, profane spitfire Elliot and as the restrained Beverly who is seeking to start a family of her own.
Weisz, who has consistently mixed arthouse material (The Favourite) with more commercial films (Black Widow, “The Mummy”) and has already won an Oscar for “The Constant Gardener,” is executive producing. The production “Dead Ringers” from Amazon Studios and Annapurna Television is slated to debut on April 21.
In addition to being nominated for an Emmy for “Normal People” and winning a WGA Award for “Succession,” author Alice Birch, known for the Florence Pugh-starring movies “Lady Macbeth” and “The Wonder,” also created another Sally Rooney adaptation titled “Conversations With Friends.”
Weisz travelled to France with Birch, along with “The Umbrella Academy” actor Britne Oldford, who plays Beverly’s love interest and challenges the sisters’ bond.
Ming Peiffer, Rachel De-Lahay, Susan Soon He Stanton, and Miriam Battye are the co-writers of the programme. The directors are Sean Durkin, Karena Evans, Lauren Wolkstein, and Karyn Kusama. Poppy Liu, Michael Chernus, and Emily Meade round out the cast.