MovieChat Forums > The Scapegoat (2012) Discussion > No one tells the difference of two peopl...

No one tells the difference of two people who look like the same ?

posted 11 years ago by poserpro
20 replies | jump to latest

Well, this Scapegoat reminds me of a movie DAVE starred by Kevin Klein and Sigourney Weaver, in which a lookalike faked to be the president of the United States for a temporary time. The other similar example is "The Assignment", with Ben Kinsley, Donald Sutherland and Aidan Quinn.

I found it hard to believe for people around the fake not able to identify the subtle differences with the real one. I mean, although they might look like the same at first sight, but if you talk to him, watch him closely enough or give him a question that he wouldn't be able to answer or respond properly, they would know "he" is not the one. Such as a mole or wrinkle in his face that the other one doesn't have, or his tone or manner or gesture or anything that would cause any suspicion.

These kind of movies just try to make the stories idealistic enough to convoy the plots, only make them unconvincingly entertaining and hard to believe.

[–] KymLey 11 years ago

From that statement I'm guessing that you haven't watched the film?

Well my understanding is that initially he tried to tell them the truth but they didn't believe him. Now this says more about the other character. The film is based in a time frame of one week and when he does bring up information or does things that are unnatural they either think that he is rude or that he is trying to be a better person.

A couple of people do figure it out, for one reason or another and how they react I recommend you watch the film. I think it's a fantastic film and the lead actor, who plays both john and johnny is great, as is the rest of the cast.

[–] BernesePlease 11 years ago

I'm just amazed that the mother could kick her morphine habit overnight.

"This is me, getting off, withholding."

[–] puschit-1 11 years ago

I watched it and yes, there are some explanations, one being that the other guy was a liar and drunkard to begin with, so they didn't believe him and thought his story was an excuse and one of his antics. But it's still a stretch.

What I wondered most about is how fast and why he gave up explaining that he isn't the real one. If he really tried there would be countless methods to do so, like making phone calls to people he knows and asking them to send pictures, performing things the other guy can't do like maybe singing or whatever. I am also sure that even if you happen to look exactly the same regarding face, height and weight you'd still have macules, scars or something like this at places the other one wouldn't have. Finally you could pull all kinds of psychological stunts. If I were in his place I would start with the wife, telling her the whole story, and if she says she doesn't believe me, I would tell her "fine, then that means we can have sex right now and you wouldn't mind doing it because you are 100% sure that I am not a stranger?" ;)

[–] jquick99 11 years ago

just posted this in the other thread. teeth. NO way would their teeth be the same.

[–] christinekay 11 years ago

Something else that struck me was that, during that period, people would have handwritten far more items than they do now, ie letters, documents, etc, and signed and written cheques as well. How would it be possible for the "imposter" to duplicate his double's handwriting exactly in this case? Even if some of the family guessed the truth, what about the banks who would check his signature on a cheque? It's very hard to copy someone's signature, and I'm not sure if this aspect of the story was referred to in the dramatisation. I realise this is probably a fault of the original novel, but it still bothers me.

[–] cmcurrie2 11 years ago

The point of the story was the story . . . which worked quite well, especially given the implausibility factor.

BTW, foreign paternity can be somewhere around 10% . . . so if you want a real-life basis, there it is.

[–] tdoa 11 years ago

It's not a documentary, it's a "fantasy" of sorts (the author Daphne Du Maurier also wrote "The Birds" by the way)! If you examine the implausibilities too closely there would be no story, which is a damn good one and all in all it turns out quite "logical". I liked this version even more than the Alec Guinness, Bette Davis film. In that one the French mistress had a bigger part.

[–] cmcurrie2 11 years ago

We are in agreement. Perhaps you intended to reply to some of the people who are saying the story failed.

[–] tdoa 11 years ago

Indeed cmc2 it was to those so hung up on the "implausibility". One might as well give up watching or reading any kind of fiction if one is not able to suspend disbelief to a certain point.

[–] blanche-2 11 years ago

This type of film is fun but not realistic, and you really just have to enjoy it and not pick at it as if it is supposed to be realistic.

I saw a program years ago where a young girl was hit in the head and developed amnesia. The hospital put her photo in the paper, and the girls' parents, who were frantically looking for her, ran to the hospital. Well, because the girl had amnesia, she didn't have one personality trait, one facial expression, that was the same as their daughter's. She didn't carry herself the same way. The difference was so pronounced that the parents almost didn't think it was their daughter!

You can always tell twins apart. One set of twins I knew used to take one another's classes every once in a while, but they both said they thought the teachers knew. People may have the same face but they are not the same.

So this movie, the original Scapegoat with Alec Guinness, Dead Ringer, A Stolen Life, the TV movie Deceptions - these are all great fun and enjoyable, but not realistic. Nor are a lot of things. You just can't take them at that level.

[–] bart-229 10 years ago

This reminds you of "Dave?" They have utterly different subject matter; the only similarity is that they have characters who look alike. Does every murder mystery remind you of "Law and Order?"

[–] bart-229 10 years ago

This reminds you of "Dave?" They have utterly different subject matter; the only similarity is that they have characters who look alike. Does every murder mystery remind you of "Law and Order?"

[–] bart-229 10 years ago

If they were standing next to each other it would probably be easy enough to tell, but if not people see what they expect to see given the context. There's no reason for them not to think he is who he looks to be, and they aren't motivated to look further since their suspicions aren't aroused.

[–] bart-229 10 years ago

Oh, come now. The central, precipitating conceit of the story is that, however improbable or even impossible it might be, these are two people who look *identical*. You have to suspend your disbelief for it to work, and if you can't then this isn't the movie for you.