The Gibbons sister’s case stunned the media and academics for decades. The story originated in Wales. The Gibbons were immigrants from the Caribbean and arrived in the country at a time of social and racial upheaval. Interestingly, the two began to communicate only with each other and not with anyone else after a certain age. Their unbreakable bond became a subject of mass hysteria and grief for the family. Despite their circumstances, the girls were prolific writers, publishing acclaimed works. Agnieszka Smoczyńska adapts her story in a heartbreaking way in ‘The Silent Twins’. Unlike most mainstream biopics, Agnieszka takes a different approach to bringing the sisters’ lives to the screen.
Like ‘Blonde’ on Netflix, creates a real and visceral portrait of the two that is perhaps too faithful to reality. One of the reasons for the film’s cryptic and seemingly inaccessible plot is the use of the sisters’ personal diaries and private notes as inspiration for the events. For those who have seen ‘The Electric Life of Louis Wain,’ The Silent Twins plays out like its second half. We see the world through his eyes, highlights and pitfalls. The surreal element in the narrative really stands out as a unique opportunity to witness the inspiration of sanity from her. This final explanation of ‘The Silent Twins’ attempts to answer some of the weird questions about the sisters and not necessarily the plot as it is mostly non-existent. Please note that some of them may not be entirely accurate, just like in the movie, and are not intended to disrespect or demean the image of the real-life sisters.
The Silent Twins Movie Plot Summary and Synopsis:
Why did the sisters decide not to communicate with anyone else?
Interestingly, the answer to the question lies in the details. There are a multitude of factors at play here. First, the twins were mercilessly bullied and ostracized at school. Their diaries revealed that they were the only black children in the community they went to. Racial tensions were, of course, high at the time, not just in the country but around the world. Adding to their problems was bullying from older children, as seen in the film. They were almost in a catatonic state when they weren’t together at school, and the haughty ones took advantage of that. We see one of them spitting in June’s mouth and asking her to swallow it.
In addition to these external forces at school, the sisters also began to create their language in an attempt to make their relationship and company exclusive to each other. Although they started with English, they soon switched to another language as they communicated. According to the records, and as the film confirms, they spoke a version of Bajan Creole, a language not native to the region or the family. And the way they said it was a little hard to understand. It was almost as if they were deliberately trying to isolate themselves from the outside world.
The sisters wrote extensively in their journals in their bedroom, which became their sanctuary. Each entry was not necessarily a personal milestone, but even the smallest things found their way into them. That’s where they got all the great ideas for the books they ended up writing.
Why were the sisters sent away from each other?
Counselors and medical professionals tried to find out the reason for his contractual conditioning. It was beyond the books, and specific experiments were required in a kind of hit-and-test setup. One of the proposals that came up was to separate the two and see how they reacted. It happened at a very young age, and in the film we see a brief period where they went to different boarding schools. But, as we saw, the experiment failed miserably. The sisters continued to flee the facility in acts of defiance. They refused to eat or do anything other than lie in their beds and hope that it would bring them together. This segment also answers the questions of how the twins were able to communicate telekinetically to give each other signals and directions.
The answer to the latter does not have much to do with the cinema but with the research and advances that academics have made in their field of study. Most scholars believe that identical twins often have the ability to have a shared experience of the universe in their early ages before their brain development. Being twins, the sisters developed a very close bond. But for most couples, that ends after they’ve reached a certain age. Only in the rarest of rare cases does that lead to something like this. Of course, this isn’t the first example of twins behaving erratically to isolate themselves from the outside world. But it doesn’t happen often.
Another fun fact is that this happened to the sisters and was even published in the newspapers. A quote from Marjorie Wallace’s book, on which the film is based, says the following.
“The girls continued to attend school, although they refused to read or write. In 1974, a doctor administering vaccinations at the school noticed his impassive demeanor and notified a child psychologist. The twins began seeing a succession of therapists who tried unsuccessfully to get them to communicate with each other. They were sent to separate boarding schools in an attempt to break their isolation, but the couple became catatonic and completely withdrawn when they broke up.”.
What were the fleeting animation snippets about?
The animation snippets were perhaps the most intriguing element of the narrative. According to director Agnieszka Smoczyńska, these fragments were written up by the sisters in the form of stories in their personal diaries. The first one we see about the two parrots is pretty obvious. They wrote about themselves and how they felt like “animals in a zoo” that people come to look at and find amusement in their condition. Pallensburg’s tangent also plays a lot with the real-life events that happened to them and traumatized them. If she looks closely enough, the story was about Jennifer being given a new heart. Now that was hope and what June wanted more than anything.
She desperately wanted her sister to survive the illness she contracted, but in the end she couldn’t. The animations we see in the story have no relevance to the plot but are an attempt to understand the twins’ perspective. Agnieszka wanted to put the viewer in the shoes of the sisters and make us experience how the world treated her. They were made to feel like second class citizens and had no empathy from anyone. All they were to the outside world was a science experiment. It stands out strongly in those parts that look cool due to the stop-motion animation technology.
How do June and Jennifer end up in the mental hospital?
The sisters went through a dark phase that changed the course of their lives. Due to their condition and hormonal urge to chase boys, they fell for the bad guys. Wayne and his brother introduced the twins to many vices that destroyed their lives. It first started with drugs and alcohol. The first few occasions felt heavenly to the girls, and quickly became a habit. But the most damaging aspect was undoubtedly theft. Both boys were low-level criminals who did petty things, like breaking up and robbing people. As an act of rebellion, the girls found meaning and purpose in replicating those and joining them on some of their sprees.
In one scene in the film, we see the girls break into a store and set it on fire. This was the first time they were caught by the authorities and later brought to court for sentencing. If one looks at criminal codes around the world, the punishment, both fines and imprisonment, are minor. For first-time offenders, judges often let matters go to community service. But this case was special. The judge called an expert amicus curia to navigate the delicate reality of the case. Despite their best attempts, the sisters’ families and counselors were unable to convince the judge that the sisters were fit for the outside world.
On the expert’s recommendation, they were sent to a psychiatric hospital for life. They represented a threat, not only to themselves, but also to others if they were allowed to stay outside. Even in the facility, they had to be placed in different rooms due to very violent episodes of fights between them. The separation was once again brutal for them, especially for June, who was the beta in the relationship.
The ending of the Silent Twins movie, explained:
How does June reintegrate into society?
The ending of The Sister Twins is intriguing for many reasons. But it is also tragic. After the sisters are locked up in the mental hospital and separated, June finally begins to open up a bit. She is still under the influence of her sister, but she shows signs that things might be looking up. She attempted suicide and Jennifer’s “intervention” saved her life. Jennifer’s health worsens as the days go by. When Marjorie becomes interested in writing a book about her story, the sisters have mixed feelings about it. She knows that she doesn’t have much time left in her heart and even confesses the same thing to June and Marjorie. Neither of them take the revelation too seriously. The sisters’ family’s attempts to get them out of there are ultimately successful and it feels like a new dawn in their lives.
But unfortunately, when the transfer is approved and Jennifer is placed in the car, she falls to her death. In real life, Jennifer died from an inflamed heart. The condition could not have been treated even with an early diagnosis. Tragedy falls on the family, especially on June, with a strong impact. She doesn’t feel like herself for days. Many thought that she would not be able to live since her sister was the dominant one, and she danced only to her melodies. But like a miracle, June begins to go out and communicate with people normally. A new person is born from the tragedy, it seems.
Many theories hold that Jennifer’s “curse” was lifted after her death and inspired June to make her way in life. The implication was that Jennifer had ultimate control over June and that she wouldn’t dare do anything Jennifer wouldn’t allow. It’s a crazy story but one that has a strong and absorbing human connection at its core.