The Crown Shyness (2022)

Joshua and Benji are identical twins who have just finished high school Aged twenty. The former is a budding trombonist obsessed with getting laid, the latter, more a drummer, with finding something more in the true love vein. They are close yet spar and squabble like most siblings, but Joshua's behaviour is more erratic. He's more prone to foul-mouthed tantrums and strops and is, frankly, a pain in the ass. Might a spell in the army calm them down? National service beckons and that might impose some discipline on the pair - but somehow, I wouldn't bank on it. The problem here for me is two-fold. Firstly, why was this documentary made in the first place? I assumed that both had some learning difficulties but as the project evolved I wasn't sure if that were true or if they were just hyperactively obnoxious. There is no real clarity from the film-makers as to what/who we are watching. Secondly. The camera is everywhere. Fellini couldn't have placed his photographer better and that robs the film of much authenticity - it looks staged. The scenarios look thoroughly rehearsed and almost perfectly choreographed. Some of the imagery is even treated and by the mid-point of this overlong fly-on-the-wall look at the struggles faced by the boys, I wasn't quite sure what was real and what was not. I watched it largely starved of context and felt a little adrift of the thrust of their story by the end.