Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		1.5

The Identical Blu-ray Movie Review

Same old same old.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 3, 2015

An album by The King famously proclaimed “50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can’t Be Wrong!”, which of course might lead some cynics to respond, “Says who?” But chances are you’d be hard pressed to find even one of either those tens of millions or any of the other tens of millions who followed in the wake of Elvis’ initial fanbase who would find The Identical as anything other than “wrong” in any number of ways. The Identical plays on a bit of lore from Elvis’ life that any true fan can recite, but which may not be known to an increasingly unaware public who tends to see Elvis as simply a spandex suited parody of what a rock ‘n’ roll “star” was back in the day. As any diehard Elvis aficionado can probably tell you, Elvis was actually a twin, though his brother was stillborn, making Elvis an only child. The Identical takes that idea—two identical twins with an inherent musical genius—and then crafts one of those supposedly “family friendly” entertainments that ends up playing more like overly strained and flavor free baby food, the cinematic equivalent of pabulum.

Anyone who’s been counting the minutes until Miles Teller ( The Spectacular Now) is announced as the star of a Presley biographical film due to Teller’s rather amazing resemblance to The King had better be prepared for a contender for that role: Blake Rayne, who essays the roles of twins Ryan Wade and Drexel Hemsley in The Identical. Rayne bears more than a passing resemblance to Presley, and in fact has made his living as one of the top Elvis impersonators in the world. (Online articles about Rayne also divulge he was a big winner on The Weakest Link gameshow and, in one of the oddest credits ever, provided the “body” for Elvis—Elvis’ own head was magically morphed onto the image—for a duet with Celine Dion on American Idol).

The twins have different surnames because their Depression Era parents, the Hemsleys, quickly come to the realization that they can’t afford to raise two boys. When Providence offers them a chance to have one of their boys raised in a supposedly loving, caring environment, they tearfully give the baby up for adoption, ameliorating their heartbreak with the certain knowledge that the child will have more opportunities being raised by Reverend Reece (Ray Liotta) and Helen (Ashley Judd) Wade. What the Hemsleys aren’t aware of is that both of their sons were born with innate musical talents. Drexel Hemsley is raised in an environment where his natural gifts are fostered, and he becomes an Elvis-esque phenomenon. Ryan, on the other hand, finds his natural tendencies stymied by a well meaning but boneheaded father who feels his adopted son must follow in his own ministerial footsteps.

Perhaps a little oddly, The Identical doesn’t really waste a lot of its narrative time detailing the stratospheric success of Dexter Hemsley, choosing instead to chart the more precipitous route of Ryan Wade’s life. That may give the film a suitable focus, but it also tends to divorce Ryan’s tale from what the putative point of the whole exercise is—he’s seemingly psychically linked to his famous brother, and he certainly shares exactly the same talent. Even more oddly, Ryan actually does break free of his father’s will and begins to make a name for himself in the music industry. While he gets one of his first big breaks in a kind of “Dexter impersonation” event, there’s a curiously sanguine quality to everyone’s reactions to the rather amazing resemblance (in both appearance and sound) between Dexter and Ryan.

What really strains credulity here, though, is one of the foundational elements of the film. When the Hemsleys give up little Ryan, they do so amicably with a preacher and his wife who are obviously relatively well known and well intentioned. Why, then, all the secrecy? Why engage in the subterfuge the Hemsleys do? Why keep the twins separate from each other? Well, the answer to that one is easy—it provides the main dramatic impetus for the film and allows for the traditionally heartstring tugging moments at the end when the truth comes tumbling out.

Rayne brings an expected swagger to the musical elements of his role(s), honed no doubt through his Elvis impersonation duties over the years, though he struggles at times with the acting elements. Judd and Liotta are surprisingly good as the parents, even if they’re saddled with absolutely ridiculous dialogue quite a bit of the time. The (how to put this?) “eclectic” supporting cast which includes everyone from Seth Green to Joe Pantoliano is colorful if not ultimately that memorable (it’s never a good sign when more interest is generated by the changing fashions and hairstyles of the passing decades than by the actual characterizations). The Identical has a few moments of decent emotion stuffed into its otherwise pretty turgid development, but like a lot of pretenders to the throne, it comes off as little more than ersatz star power.

The Identical Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Identical is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cinedigm with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.41:1. Shot digitally with the Arri Alexa, The Identical generally looks sharp and well detailed, though it's at times a kind of curiously underbaked and unremarkable presentation. Two longish bookending sequences, as well as some shorter interstitial flashback material, are presented in black and white, and contrast is a bit overblown at times, leading to slightly blooming whites which also evidence very minor but noticeable banding on occasion. The longer color sequences are occasionally slightly graded to artificial hues, but generally offer a good, robust and natural looking palette. While the Alexa is often lauded for the range of light it can capture, I personally have occasional qualms with the look of scenes shot in low light or (close to) no light circumstances, and those arose for me again here, with several dim sequences looking a bit murky and ill defined. Brightly lit sequences on the other hand pop quite nicely, with excellent levels of fine detail, and commendable sharpness and clarity.

The Identical Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

By far the best thing about The Identical is its fun soundtrack, which offers both some good cover versions of tunes as well as some surprisingly effective originals, all presented in a well proportioned and nicely immersive lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 environment. The sounds of early fifties' honky tonky are offered with excellent clarity, and once the music starts segueing into more traditional rock 'n' roll and then a kind of folk-pop sensibility, similar clarity is on display, with excellent surround support for the score. Dialogue is also presented very cleanly and clearly. The track has absolutely no issues of any kind to report, and offers excellent fidelity and nice dynamic range.

The Identical Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Making of The Identical (1080p; 20:35) is totally standard EPK fare, but it does have some fun behind the scenes footage of various sequences being shot.


• Behind the Scenes with Cast Commentary (1080p; 14:43) is more EPK material with interstitial interviews.


• The Music of The Identical (1080p; 5:22) is basically an ad for the soundtrack CD.


• Zaxby's Promotional Video (1080p; 4:03) is an amusing piece working in a kind of weird cross-section of this film's natural viewing demographic, fast food lovers and NASCAR fans.


• Deleted Scenes (1080p; 15:56)


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:31)

The Identical Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Much like the Reverend Reece Wade, The Identical has its heart in the right place, but it's simply an overly hackneyed and needlessly melodramatic account of one man listening to his heart and finding his true calling. Completely predictable every step of the way, The Identical does manage to wring a bit of honest emotion out of a few moments, but the only completely successful thing in the film is the enjoyable score, which is itself a jumble of pastiche and cover material. Fans of the film should be well pleased with its presentation on Blu-ray.