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A movie about conjoined (or "Siamese") twins and a prostitute sounds like a bad joke or a sleazy porn flick, but Twin Falls Idaho is actually an eerie, atmospheric story about love and mutual dependence. Penny (Michele Hicks) gets called to a dingy hotel room where she discovers Blake and Francis Falls (twin brothers Mark and Michael Polish). When they go into the bathroom to get her a glass of water, she flees--but forgets her purse. When she returns, Blake and Francis don't get angry; they accept her fear and horror with sad resignation. Their vulnerability draws Penny into their lives, as she learns that the illness of one twin threatens the lives of both. Twin Falls Idaho moves slowly, but the pace never drags. The lush cinematography is drenched in color; the makeup, costumes, and set design feel not quite contemporary and combine to give the movie a dislocated, otherworldly look. The movie was written by the Polish brothers and directed by Michael; though it's their first film, it feels confident and has a sweet, melancholy humor. The performances of the entire cast--including supporting appearances by Patrick Bauchau, Lesley Ann Warren, and Garrett Morris--are consistent and strong. Though clearly influenced by David Lynch (Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks), Twin Falls Idaho slowly becomes a unique and affecting creation. The delicate image of the twin brothers quietly whispering in each other's ears will linger in your memory long after the movie ends. --Bret Fetzer
Unusual StoryReviewed by Michael Kerjman, 2009-12-16
An unusual story of twins separeted tragically to the better.
Sweet , a bit sexy fairytale.
Most touching film I've seen in yearsReviewed by December Girl, 2007-08-31
Michael and Mark Polish play conjoined twins Blake and Francis
Falls, who start this movie in a run down hotel room in a big city.
They'd come to find their mother who had offered them for adoption
at birth upon learning of their deformity.
In the opening scenes, we meet Penny, a prostitute who has been
called by the brothers. This is one thing I never understood about
this movie - it is rated "R" yet there are no sex scenes in it,
however this movie isn't one for the "PG" crowd either because it
does take maturity and understanding.
As the movie proceeds, the bonds between Penny and the brothers
grow.
I can't say enough about how touching and sweet this movie is. This
is not my usual sort of interest when it comes to films but it is
brilliantly executed and wonderfully acted by all involved.
If you've ever experienced not exactly fitting in, you'll like this
movie. It's one of my favorites, definitely. If you have not seen
this movie, you are really missing out on one of the finest
American films.
Awe-inspiring.Reviewed by Robert P. Beveridge, 2006-12-20
Twin Falls Idaho (Michael Polish, 1999)
Sometimes after I see a film, I want to run out and tell the world
about how great it is. Other times, I just have to sit there, with
no muscle control or brain function, and wait for the movie to sink
in. As the closing scenes of Twin Falls Idaho played out before me,
I sat, drooling on myself a little, and just stared.
It's that good.
Blake and Francis Falls (Michael and Mark Polish of Hellraiser:
Bloodline) are siamese twins who live in a fleabag hotel. For their
birthday, they call an escort service; Penny (The Sheld's Michele
Hicks in her film debut) arrives. At first disturbed by their
condition, she eventually comes to like them, and convinces them to
venture outside their shell. The rest of the world, however, are
not quite as understanding as Penny.
Mark and Michael Polish are just brilliant in their roles, and
they're backed up by a stable of exceptionally talented actors
(Lesley Ann Warren, William Katt, Garrett Morris, Jon Gries, and
Sasha Alexander, among many others, show up in roles of varying
sizes). The acting talent alone would make it work as an odd,
avant-garde stage play. What makes it work as a film is Michael
Polish's vision-- not only his sympathy for the subject matter,
which can be taken as a given, but his way of presenting it. Polish
wanders off into little symbolic, almost magic-realist scenes every
once in a while to complement the subtle symbolism contained in the
rest of the film, but he never overdoes it; a couple of the scenes
get perilously close to cheesily sentimental, but never quite cross
the line. (This, though, is the most heavily-debated opinion about
the movie, specifically in relation to the bicycle scene-- if you
liked that, then you're probably going to love the movie.)
At its heart, though, it's another movie about a love triangle,
albeit one with an interesting and original twist, and one that's
presented just shy of perfectly. A fantastic film. **** ½
I was not expecting this !!!Reviewed by G. W. Wilson, 2006-04-26
I would not exactly call myself a softy, but this movie touched
just about every emotion possible.
I consider myself a typical guy, and therefore stopped while
channel surfing late one night to check out 'Penny'. After a few
minutes I brought on the info. on the movie and thought I would
check out a little more since the description indicated that the
'hooker' was going to seduce the twins. Ok, what the hell, I'll
hang around a bit just to see some skin... Penny is pretty
hot.
But within ten minutes I was captured by both the performance of
the characters and the writing. Absolutely not the 'run of the
mill' kinda of movie. This was so much more than the 'sleaze' I was
expecting. This movie is so thought provoking and emotional that I
literally had tears in my eyes by the end of the movie. Boy, am I'm
glad my girlfriend was not around. Then again, maybe that would
have been a GOOD thing.
Anyway, after the movie ended I felt ashamed about what I was
expecting, that is after I blew my nose. This was way more of an
intimate EXPERIENCE. It'll stick with you for a while.
Simply BrilliantReviewed by Sheila M. O'Neill, 2005-08-26
A wildly original story, which might have been made into a very bad movie, is told with heartfelt simplicity. The imagery is beautiful, and many of the scenes from this sad, thoughful film will stay with you. The acting is natural and convincing and you will be involved with a group of very unusual characters. This is a work of genius.
