Three Identical Strangers is the real-life story of identical triplets separated at birth in an experiment to study nature versus nurture.
Proving that truth is stranger than fiction, Three Identical Strangers is the story of triplet boys separated at birth. The documentary sounds more like a work of fiction; in fact, the story sounds more like something that belongs in a teen drama. Three identical, 19-year-old boys, who all grew up separately in the suburbs of New York City, find out about each other one day because two of them decided to attend the same community college.
Bobby, Eddy, and David did not know of one another growing up. They had their own families, and unlike other multiples that grew up with one another, these three didn’t think they were part of a set. In fact, they did not know of one another until they were about 19 years old.
How did they find one another?
The story of their discovery began when Bobby showed up at community college, and other students seemed overly friendly as if they already knew him. Eventually, Bobby learned about Eddy, a former student who looked exactly like him. Eddy’s friends noted that Eddy was adopted and had the same birth date as Bobby. Bobby knew right away that he had to meet Eddy.
Bobby and Eddy’s news made for a great human interest story, and eventually, articles began appearing in the papers of New York. When David Kellman’s friends saw photos of the long-lost twins, they couldn’t believe how much they looked like David. The friends learned from the articles that the boys were adopted and had the same birth date as David. David knew he had to meet Eddy and Bobby.
Everything was not as it seemed…
If the story ended at their joyful reunion, this would be a fun Disney movie rather than a serious documentary release. But, as it turns out, the triplets and other multiples were part of an experimental study based on nature versus nurture.
The boys were purposefully separated at birth and monitored over the years, and their adoptive parents were never told the boys had siblings, let alone two identical brothers. And though the parents knew about the monitoring, they were told it was for a study on adoption, not the separation of identical siblings.
Three Identical Strangers premiered at The Sundance Film Festival to rave reviews and continues to receive high ratings on rottentomatoes.com. The documentary is set for a wider release on June 29th.
Watch the trailer now:
