Nearly 60 years after their birth, the story of June and Jennifer Gibbons is still as compelling as it ever was. In her intriguing new film, The Silent Twins, Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Smoczynska brings the heartbreaking and fascinating real-life story to the big screen. Smoczynska used journalist Marjorie Wallace’s 1986 book of the same name as the foundation for her film.
We meet the girls first during their formative years in Wales, England, portrayed by Leah Mondesir Simmons and Eva-Arianna Baxter. In their bedroom, they are transfixed with one another, locked in their own world where they have long and fascinating conversations. They are vibrant and loud —delighted to be with one another. Smoczynska uses stop-motion animation to display the twins' daydreams and their playtimes. In reality, the pair sit in their room all day, heads hung, whispering quickly and quietly to one another. When their mother enters their space, and when they encounter anyone else, there is a defining and eery silence.