The story of conjoined twins and famed sideshow performers Daisy and Violet Hilton teems with lurid twists and extraordinary images, yet Leslie Zemeckis (Behind the Burly Q) turns it into a plodding, visually uninspired documentary (2012). There’s the usual procession of talking heads and archival photographs but no narrative sensibility that might bring the material to life. The Hiltons’ love lives and the outre details of sideshow history make this interesting in spite of itself, though one can only imagine what a more competent filmmaker might have done with them.
Bound by Flesh
1 hour 31 min • 2012
