--- title: "Three Identical Strangers: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/three-identical-strangers/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/three-identical-strangers" critics_score: 77 critics_reviews: 22 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Three Identical Strangers (2018): what the critics said Critics' score 77 from 22 reviews: 19 positive, 3 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics like it, and nearly all describe the same shape: a cheerful tabloid story about triplets reunited as young men that turns, in its second half, into something much darker about how and why they were separated. The praise goes to Tim Wardle’s structure, which lays the story out chronologically and withholds information so that each revelation lands, and to the pacing and editing, which several reviews call brisk, gripping or thriller-like. The brothers themselves, lively on camera, are credited with holding it together. The reservations are about depth rather than execution. Slant finds Wardle too taken with his twists, favouring plot over the brothers’ emotional lives, and The Telegraph thinks the film falls short conceptually, particularly on nature versus nurture. The AV Club, otherwise admiring, thinks that thesis is pushed further than the evidence allows. The spread is narrow: nineteen positive, three mixed, nobody hostile. ## The Times — Kevin Maher Rating ★★★★★. 30 November 2018. This superlative documentary begins as a quirky human-interest tale of reunited triplets before revealing twists about scientific research and a cover-up. It expertly raises provocative questions about free will while keeping focus on the profound injustice done to the subjects. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/article/three-identical-strangers-review-v8pfbv6k7) ## Vulture Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 27 June 2018. The knockout documentary starts as a goofy tabloid story and drifts into darker waters of horror and tragedy. Wardle shapes it as a detective story revealing a diabolical secret study, holding viewers with the brothers' existential anguish. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2018/06/three-identical-strangers-movie-review.html) ## The AV Club — Mike D'Angelo Rating B+. 26 June 2018. The documentary delivers a mind-boggling true story that grows more disturbing with each revelation about a secret scientific experiment. Wardle lays it out chronologically but overreaches slightly on the nature-vs-nurture thesis while still fascinating throughout. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-true-story-of-three-identical-strangers-gets-crazie-1827134953) ## Little White Lies — Matthew Eng Rating 3/4/3. 28 June 2018. The review highlights the film's surprising twists and emotional depth, particularly the sadness and the investigation into the cruel separation; praises the humane portrait but notes some filmmaking shortcomings. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/three-identical-strangers) ## Los Angeles Times — Justin Chang Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 28 June 2018. The intensely compelling documentary reconstructs the triplets’ reunion and uncovers further twists about their separation as part of a psychological study. Wardle’s twisty structure and brisk pacing make it riveting, though sometimes overly slick. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-three-identical-strangers-review-20180628-story.html) ## RogerEbert.com — Glenn Kenny Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 29 June 2018. The critic finds the documentary starts as a light human-interest tale but shifts to a dark exploration of conspiracy and tragedy involving the triplets' separation. Wardle’s narrative strategy of withholding key information heightens the impact of the revelations about the adoption agency’s agenda. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/three-identical-strangers-2018) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 19 January 2018. Festival review. Describes it as a bizarre and fascinating doc that uncovers a disturbing story of social engineering and conspiracy; praises the dogged investigative approach and shocking revelations. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/three-identical-strangers-sundance-review/5125578.article) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 19 January 2018. Festival review. The documentary chronicles the startling reunion of triplets separated at birth and the disturbing ethical questions that emerge. Wardle tells this strange, distressing story with great skill and compassion in a brisk, absorbing package. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/three-identical-strangers-sundance-2018-1075831/) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 29 November 2018. The critic calls the film mind-boggling and notes it starts as an upbeat feelgood story before growing darker and more disturbing. Wardle is praised for tackling an astonishing story in a conventional yet restrained manner with the result being both uplifting and terribly depressing. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/three-identical-strangers-review-documentary-release-date-trailer-a8656041.html) ## IndieWire — Eric Kohn Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 19 January 2018. Festival review. The film presents a weird-but-true story of triplets separated at birth that turns into a dark conspiracy. It remains a charming story until the revelations make it even weirder than expected. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/three-identical-strangers-review-sundance-2018-1201919200/) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 27 June 2018. The film is an engrossing and sometimes enraging account of triplets reunited after separate adoptions, turning into a detective story about unethical scientific experiments. Wardle mixes archival footage, interviews, and recreations to reveal a grim story of hubris and abuse in the name of science. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/27/movies/three-identical-strangers-review-documentary.html) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 28 November 2018. Tim Wardle’s compelling documentary turns a feelgood reunion story into something much darker, revealing a secret research project that deliberately separated the triplets. The critic praises its gripping narrative and the way it exposes the profound sadness that followed the initial ecstasy. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/nov/28/three-identical-strangers-review-triplets-research-tim-wardle) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 22 June 2018. The documentary recounts the triplets’ joyful public reunion that masks a disturbing scientific project behind their separation by an adoption agency. The tale moves from surprise and absurdity to bafflement and sadness, with files on the experiment remaining sealed for decades. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/07/02/leave-no-trace-and-three-identical-strangers) ## Variety — Peter Debruge Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 17 April 2018. Festival review. Tim Wardle’s gripping documentary reveals the triplets’ reunion as the start of uncovering a larger medical conspiracy behind their separation. It begins as a human-interest story and builds into impressive investigative journalism. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2018/film/reviews/three-identical-strangers-review-1202755378/) ## The Telegraph Rating 3/5. 30 November 2018. The film entertainingly spins the nature-nurture debate through the triplets’ story but falls short conceptually, with some weaknesses in its approach to the missing brother and overall depth. It remains an absorbing documentary with strong anecdotal value. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/three-identical-strangers-review-absorbing-doc-stops-just-short/) ## Time Out — Dave Calhoun Rating 3/5. 8 July 2018. The critic finds the documentary gripping and thought-provoking about the triplets' story, but notes the mood sours as darker truths emerge; praises the journalistic approach and the shocking revelations of cruelty in the adoption. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/three-identical-strangers) ## Slant Magazine — Chuck Bowen Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 27 June 2018. Wardle tells an extraordinary story but stays at the surface excitement of its twists, favoring plot over character and atmosphere. The film misses opportunities to explore the brothers' emotional lives in depth despite the compelling subject matter. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/three-identical-strangers/) ## Collider — Adam Chitwood Rating A. 27 June 2018. The critic calls the documentary shocking, poignant, and moving as it examines the nature vs. nurture debate through the triplets' story. It effectively shifts tones from light to thrilling while keeping focus on the subjects' humanity. [Read the review](https://collider.com/three-identical-strangers-review-documentary/) ## The Wrap — Dan Callahan Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 27 June 2018. Festival review. The critic praises the documentary's suspenseful structure that mimics the triplets' joyful initial reunion before revealing the sinister reasons for their separation as part of a psychological experiment. Wardle is credited with journalistic persistence in crafting a nerve-jangling thriller. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/three-identical-strangers-film-review-cnn-triplets/) ## The Playlist — Kimber Myers Rating B+. 29 June 2018. This stranger-than-fiction documentary is immediately engrossing thanks to its bonkers true story and charming subjects, with strong pacing, editing and reenactments that keep it entertaining. It falls short by raising questions about the brothers' separation and later lives without fully answering them. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/three-identical-strangers-review-20180629/) ## Consequence Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 27 June 2018. The review notes the film starts unpromisingly but becomes enthralling with its revelations about the adoption experiment and its implications for genetics and family. It praises the later sections for insight into the brothers' reflections and the sinister science involved. [Read the review](https://consequence.net/2018/06/film-review-three-identical-strangers/) ## Eye for Film — Amber Wilkinson Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 5 March 2018. The surprises keep coming in this documentary that begins as remarkable and grows increasingly jaw-dropping. The lively testimony of the brothers, supported by archive footage and family input, provides a strong through line while the director balances personal emotion with broader implications. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/three-identical-strangers-2018-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/three-identical-strangers.md