5.2/10
2,520
78 user 38 critic

The Identical (2014)

PG | | Drama, Music | 5 September 2014 (USA)
Trailer
2:03 | Trailer
Twin brothers are unknowingly separated at birth; one of them becomes an iconic rock 'n' roll star, while the other struggles to balance his love for music and pleasing his father.

Director:

Dustin Marcellino
1 win. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ray Liotta ... Reece Wade
Ashley Judd ... Louise Wade
Seth Green ... Dino
Joe Pantoliano ... Avi Hirshberg
Blake Rayne ... Ryan Wade / Drexel Hemsley
Erin Cottrell ... Jenny O'Brien
Brian Geraghty ... William Hemsley
Amanda Crew ... Helen Hemsley
Waylon Payne ... Tony Nash
Danny Woodburn ... Damon
Chris Mulkey ... William Hemsley (Older)
Noah Urrea ... Ryan Wade (9 Years)
Gary Beaty Gary Beaty ... Steve Douglas
Caylin Cervetti Caylin Cervetti ... Angela
Ken Dodge Ken Dodge ... Sergeant
Edit

Storyline

In 1935, William and Helen Hemsley (Brian Geraghty, Amanda Crew) welcome identical twin boys into the world. But their joy is quickly tempered by a sobering realization; how could they give these children any kind of a life beyond the desperate poverty that haunted many families in the midst of the Great Depression? When evangelist Reece Wade (Ray Liotta) reveals that he and his wife Louise (Ashley Judd) cannot have children, William feels the Lord's prompting to give them one of the infant boys. Both brothers are born with passion, drive and awesome musical talent, but take very separate, yet converging paths. Drexel Hemsley (Blake Rayne) rises like a comet and changes the music world forever. His adopted brother, Ryan Wade (also played by Blake Rayne) struggles to find the purpose for his life. All the way into manhood he wrestles with pleasing Reverend Wade, his loving but controlling father, who is convinced his son Ryan is called into the ministry. Ryan is encouraged by his ... Written by Anonymous

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

If He is in your dreams, nothing can stand against Him.

Genres:

Drama | Music

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic material and smoking | See all certifications »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Joe Pantoliano appeared in La Bamba 27 years earlier, playing Ritchie Valens' music manager, another movie about music and set around the 1950s. See more »

Goofs

In the cemetery scene on the gravestones, Drexel Hemsley was born on February 12, 1936 and Dexter Ryan Hemsley was born on October 4, 1935 (and lived one day) but they are twins?! They should be born on the same day (or adjacent days). This is either a major prop screw up or an actual cemetery plot (legality?) and the mother was having twins but lost one child in the 5th month and successfully carried the other to term most likely with hospital involvement and not just a home setting. Regardless, these different dates do not fit the story under any scenario. It would seem like neighbors would know they had twins born on the same day. See more »

Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: Go, Johnny, Go! (2018) See more »

Soundtracks

Christ the Lord Has Risen Today
Performed by The Palmetto State Quartet (Paul Landcaster, David Staton, Jeremy Easley, Larry Strickland and Mike Allen), The Christ Church Choir, Nashville
Written by Charles Wesley
Traditional
See more »

User Reviews

 
Lacking Intensity but Sweet
17 May 2015 | by dansviewSee all my reviews

By now you know the story. The real Elvis had a twin brother who died at childbirth. This movie creates a hypothetical scenario wherein the twin lives but is adopted at birth.

One boy goes on to become essentially Elvis (a fictional version of him) and the other goes on to become a preacher's son with a penchant for black music, and for the music of his long lost brother whom he doesn't even realize he is related to.

The actors who played the couple who gave up one boy for adoption did a fine job of acting. I felt their pain. Ray Liotta was good too. A "personality" always plays themselves. An "actor" plays diverse roles. Liotta proved he could do that by veering way far from his "wise guy" persona.

Ashley Judd was added presumably for star power, because her role either didn't require much, or she chose not to do much with it.

As professional critics have noted, the lead actor (an Elvis impersonator in real life)lacked "heat." Ironically his character has wondered all his life why the other guy got all the fame and not him. Clearly the reason was because the other guy had confidence and generated sexual smoke.

Our main character is way too nice and respectable to be a boogie-woogie icon. More significantly the actor did not convey a sense of desperation in being trapped on the wrong path, nor frustration in missing his train so to speak. This guy is not a professional actor, so I forgive him.

The film needed a passionate lead. Liotta carried the torch, but our real lead dropped the ball. There was a scene where he turns down substantial money, but shows no signs of internal conflict about it. Even when his dad falls ill, we don't really see the agony we expect to see.

I don't know what the heck was going on with the pro-Israel thing or the Jewish message. OK, the real Elvis was partially Jewish genealogically, but how close to you have to follow his life in this script, given that it was not officially about him? Throwing in stuff about war in Israel and the preacher's support was simply gratuitous and awkward.

I'm o.k. with our lead not doing drugs or chasing women. Apparently the production company is Christian. That's fine, but I still needed to see more of a spiritual struggle between devotion to God and the darker forces represented by dance music, and a soulful battle by a dutiful son to please his father and himself simultaneously. This was not done successfully. But nice try. I enjoyed it anyways.

The most unique aspect of this film was it's original music score. They used new, original Elvis-sounding songs rather than the same old tired cliché Elvis tunes. Regardless of whether this was for copyright reasons, I enjoyed the music and appreciated its' freshness.


2 of 2 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
Review this title | See all 78 user reviews »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
Edit

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 September 2014 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Benzer Sesler See more »

Filming Locations:

Nashville, Tennessee, USA See more »

Edit

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,587,137, 7 September 2014

Gross USA:

$2,827,666

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,840,991
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

See full technical specs »

Contribute to This Page



Recently Viewed