18-year-old conjoined-twin sisters face exploitation at the hands of their selfish family in Indivisible. But when one of the pair realises that she can be removed from the other, will their love for each other keep them together or will they elect to be torn apart?
Viola and Daisy share everything; the capillaries and tissue that connect them below the hip make it easy for one to feel literally exactly what the other feels. When one drinks alcohol, they can both get drunk. Though blessed with beautiful voices and successful in their home-town of Caserta as singers, their domineering father has been keeping the financial gains tucked away, apparently for the sisters. But when Viola hears that a doctor could separate the pair and their father refuses to help financially, she drags Daisy away from the family in order to make the operation happen, whether Daisy likes it or not.
Angela and Marianna Fontana may not actually be Siamese twins in real life, but you’ll completely believe they have been joined together since birth within the first five minutes of watching Indivisible. The pair walk, run, roll around in the sand and even swim so much like they are fused at the hips, that you won’t question their condition for a second. But it’s not just in the convincing conjoining of the pair that their acting shines. Both young women deliver astounding performances in their feature debut, plumbing depths of despair when needed, but also easily demonstrating the overwhelming love the sisters have for each other, even if one does want to be removed from the other causing much friction.
It’s a pair of performances that dominate the film, but they are backed up by an assortment of creeps and oddballs that surround them and invest Indivisible with a mostly authentic and at times quite menacing tone. It’s clear that every adult wants to exploit the sisters, whether it’s the priest that calls them blessed, or the ‘manager’ that suggests he can make them famous. Ultimately, it’s lucky the pair have each other.
Indivisible could be depressing, and it certainly has moments of melodrama, but it is also life-affirming, hopeful and above all a touching story of sisterhood under strain. There is an element of inevitability to many of the plot points robbing the film of some of the potentially more suspenseful moments. However, what could have been unendingly bleak is lifted out of its grim surroundings by the wonderful performances of its two stars and the spirited characters they play.
INDIVISIBLE / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: EDOARDO DE ANGELIS / SCREENPLAY: NICOLA GUAGLIANONE, BARBARA PETRONIO, EDOARDO DE ANGELIS / STARRING: ANGELA FONTANA, MARIANNA FONTANA, ANTONIA TRUPPPO / RELEASE DATE: TBC
Expected Rating: 5 out of 10
Actual Rating:
