In 1936, William and Helen Hemsley (Brian Geraghty, Amanda Crew) welcome identical twin boys into the world. But their joy is quickly tempered byz a sobering realization; how could they give these children any kind of a life beyond the desperate poverty that haunted many families in the midst of the Great Depression? When evangelist Reece Wade (Ray Liotta) reveals that he and his wife Louise (Ashley Judd) cannot have children, William feels the Lord's prompting to give them one of the infant boys. Both brothers are born with passion, drive and awesome musical talent, but take very separate, yet converging paths. Drexel Hemsley (Blake Rayne) rises like a comet and changes the music world forever. His adopted brother, Ryan Wade (also played by Blake Rayne) struggles to find the purpose for his life. All the way into manhood he wrestles with pleasing Reverend Wade, his loving but controlling father, who is convinced his son Ryan is called into the ministry. Ryan is encouraged by his ... Written by

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american218 from United States
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THE IDENTICAL tells the compelling story of twin brothers unknowingly separated at birth during the Great Depression. DREXEL HEMSLEY becomes an iconic 50′s rock 'n' roll star, while RYAN WADE (Blake Rayne) struggles to balance his love for music and pleasing his father. The Reverend Wade (Ray Liotta) and his wife (Ashley Judd) are sure their adopted son has been gifted and called by God to be a preacher. But Ryan challenges his parent's vision for his life, and unflinchingly chooses to launch his own music career with his best friend (Seth Green). Encouraged by his wife (Erin Cottrell) and employer (Joe Pantoliano), Ryan embarks on an unpredictable, provocative path – performing the legendary music of Drexel Hemsley in sold out venues all across the country.

As the brothers destinies tragically collide, Ryan discovers that Drexel is his identical twin which leads him to question everything he's ever believed about God, family and his own identity.

THE IDENTICAL is a City of Peace Films production featuring the talents of three generations of the Marcellino family from Nashville, TN. Dustin Marcellino is the first time director, Jerry Marcellino co-wrote the 20 plus original songs with his son Yochanan, who is the founder of City of Peace Films. Yochanan and Don Noes are the two men who propelled the movie to the big screen by raising the production funding and the film's marketing budget. The movie will be distributed by Freestyle Releasing and will be opening nationwide on September 5th. STARRING: Erin Cottrell, Amanda Crew, Brian Geraghty, Seth Green, Ashley Judd, Joe Pantoliano, Blake Rayne, and Ray Liotta

DIRECTED BY: Dustin Marcellino

PRODUCED BY: Mark G. Mathis, Yochanan Marcellino, Matthew Dean Russell

DRAMA – 107 Min Featuring over 20 original songs by Jerry Marcellino and Yochanan Marcellino including: "Your Love's Keepin' Me Tonight," "City Lights," "Angel of Mine," "Everybody Knows It" and "Nashville Tonight".

Do Not Miss This Great Family Movie!

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hilllw from Nashville, TN
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Loved it! A must see. I've seen this movie twice already and will probably see it again and again. It was so nice to go to the movies and be able to take my 7 year old daughter and not have to watch a cartoon or animated movie and not have to worry about sex, violence and language. The story was great. The actors were great. Even Blake Rayne did a fabulous job with his acting debut. The music was toe tapping and I will definitely look for the sound track. Who hires these so called 'critics' anyway? What movie were they watching? Why does their opinion hold so much value? Everyone that I know that has seen it has had nothing but great things to say about the movie. They all recommend the movie and would see it again. We need to put these critics in there place and show that they don't know what they are talking about. We want to see more movies like this!!!! Move family-friendly movies! Go see the movie and decide for yourself. DON'T LISTEN TO THE CRITICS!!!!!

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rdm431 from United States
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I would not call this an inspirational film in any way. That label is keeping some people away from a great film and concept. In no way inspirational, but more so a fairy tale. Twin boys. Separated at birth for financial reasons by depression era parents. One twin going on into fame as an Elvis type rock star, the other twin the son of a minister. What if "you" looked and sung exactly like Elton John, everyone said you sounded and looked just like Elton John, you had a love for music just as Elton John. And your father instead wanted a ministers son as a son. what would you do? Great film. Not some religious hack job. Rather a fantasy of two twins destine for different directions. Or are they??? And an excellent performance from Ray Liotta. Excellent! As well as a great cast. And the role from Seth Green a real plus. A real attention getter, attention and keeper. You won't dose off during this flick. If you ever loved Ray Liotta work, this will certainly top your list. Do NOT let the false label as "inspirational film" mislead you away from a great concept and cast.

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bloucarter from Polson, MT
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My sister and I just saw this film, and it was a wonderful film. It had a good plot and kept you wondering until the end. I have seen this young man in concerts around Montana, and I was impressed with his acting ability, and I was glad to see that he was able to incorporate some of his own songs into this movie. It was definitely a soul-jerker, and I had tears near the end. Thank you for such a refreshing movie that was good for the entire family. I loved the message that it delivered.

I would recommend this movie to my friends. In fact, I already have told some friends.

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Peter Carlsson from Sweden
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Sometimes it's refreshing to see a sweet movie that has some nice cinematography, good actors and no violence, for a change. Doesn't matter if it's faith based or not; it's relaxing and rewarding. We just have to lay our usual critical sense aside and enjoy the ride. This movie have not wasted money on excesses, it's all there on the screen, and for the budget it's really managed to capture the times nicely. This movie has a little bit of Elvis, the 50s, Jerry Lee Lewis, a bit of faith, nice cars, clothes and manners from times gone by. And, why not? It feels fun to see something that are sweet and in a way a little silly sometimes. That doesn't mean that it don't have real feelings and emotions, just that it's not pretending to be something it ain't. I saw this movie with an open mind, and I found the ride to be quite good.

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steve beard (stevendbeard@aol.com) from United States
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I saw "The Identical", starring Blake Rayne-a former Elvis impersonator in his first movie; Ray Liotta-The Place Beyond the Pines, Observe and Report; Ashley Judd-Divergent, Olympus Has Fallen and Seth Green-Old Dogs, Without a Paddle.

This is a weird kind of 'What If...' story that parallels the life of Elvis Presley. They use different names but there is no doubt who the story is based on. Most Elvis fans, I'm included, know that Elvis had a brother that died at childbirth. In this film, a depression era family, around 1936, has twin boys and for financial reasons, has to give one of them away-they even claim that he died and they bury an empty box. Ray and Ashley are the lucky couple to receive the give away baby, and most of the movie focuses on him. Ray is a preacher and raises Blake to become a minister, like himself. The other twin, who is also played by Blake, becomes a famous rock and roll singer that is nicknamed 'The Dream'. The only problem is that the plain, preacher's son Blake seems to have a hankering for singing, too. He starts singing and when people keep telling him how much he looks like 'The Dream', he becomes an impersonator called The Identical. Seth plays Blake's childhood friend that is a drummer in the band. When I first heard about this movie, I was wondering if they would use real Elvis songs but I was pleasantly surprised to hear new songs-they do sound like songs that Elvis would have performed-and the star, Blake, does the actual singing-he was an Elvis impersonator in real life, remember? I may be a little prejudiced, being an Elvis fan and all, but I remember seeing Elvis live and not only does Blake look like him but he sounds pretty good, too. It's rated "PG" for smoking and drinking and has a running time of 1 hour & 47 minutes. I enjoyed it and would buy it on Blu-Ray.

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karensfashions2 from Hawaii
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I am a huge Elvis Fan! I loved The Identical movie immensely! I saw the Identical movie twice with my family members. I highly recommend it to people of all ages because of its high moral standards. The Identical movie is a precious gift to Elvis fans because we are taken on an incredible journey back in time to explore the possibility of "what if" Elvis' identical twin brother actually lived, and was secretly adopted, and grew up to enjoy life to the full! I laughed and cried throughout the movie all the way to the ending. I thought all of the actors and actresses gave outstanding performances! I was pulled right into the story, and felt that amazingly intimate glimpses were revealed to us in truly personal relationships and events. The original music perfectly suited the sound and feel of the iconic style. The Identical movie is a must see for all Elvis Fans!!!

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reuel-100-652500 from United States
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I just saw this movie with my wife and friends and we all enjoyed it. I wasn't sure what to expect, and I knew that the movie would have some type of faith message included. I was really hoping that it wouldn't be like so many other cheesy Christian movies I have seen in the past that were so badly made that it was all I could do not to turn it off...which half of them I actually couldn't resist the urge. But, I was pleasantly surprised with this movie! The acting was excellent, the cinematography was decent, it kept you engaged, and it really was a heart moving film.

I appreciated the pro-Israel message and the other biblically based values and messages that we heard throughout the movie, which seemed to come off naturally throughout the film, instead of being forced or awkward. The main actor "Ryan" was really great. His singing and talent was outstanding. The critic that gave his acting and singing a bad review...they must be relatively blind and hard of hearing. It is obvious that such critics have some type of twisted ax to grind...maybe an anti-semite, anti-Christian, or some other such hater. Such reviews are really out of line and non-deserved. To be honest, the Elvis Presley type music is really not my favorite...not my genre...Nonetheless, the movie managed to make me enjoy it while I was watching.

I think the movie was a success. Despite what one critic communicated...specifically, that there was not a clear or major point or redeeming message...From my perspective it was quite to the contrary. I believe the movie made a great point on the subject of Christians supporting Yisra'el, to pursue the calling that God has called us to (and not someone else's calling), to respect and be thankful towards our parents, and to search out and discover our true roots and who we are. I appreciate that the movie brought out that the main character was Jewish, but also had a faith in Yeshua (Jesus) The Messiah, and how both beliefs are compatible, and Biblical. Although...I could have done without the scene with the Christmas tree next to the menorah...Just the menorah with some other symbol that communicated his faith in New Testament writings would have been sufficient.

At any rate, I hope that City Of Peace films goes on to do other high quality and relevant movies. Mazel tov and L'chaim!

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RMario9 from United States
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To see a movie that doesn't bash Christianity and a young man that doesn't allow himself to get corrupted by the music scene or compromise his moral values was both refreshing and inspiring. A great movie for our youth who are constantly being bombarded by the opposite message from the world of drugs sex and rock n roll.

Scripture and those who live a life of faith are respected, those who fall into sin are not denigrated but sin is just shown for what it is. Marriage is uplifted as the main character remains faithful to his wife in a world of music which we have been told in every rock and roll movie that has come before, that that is impossible.

The film is filled with original music sang by the protagonist who himself had been an Elvis impersonator and did an amazing job singing and acting, that made you ask; who is this guy, where did he come from? He truly nailed the part down and did a great job that I wouldn't be surprised if it was a breakout roll that opens the door for many future films. I enjoyed watching him and the rest of the cast very much. Also Joe Pantoliano playing against type as he plays a sweet very supportive boss, very different than what we've been conditioned to expect which is the mean foul mouthed cynical characters that usually occupy the parts of bosses, army sergeants, or the sidekick buddies. Watching this movie leaves you thinking that there's hope for humanity.

Movies like this that uphold values and morals are unique in the multiplex today.

I hope people will support this movie with their movie dollar so we can encourage filmmakers and send a message to Hollywood that there is a market and a need for inspirational faith based films that uplift the human spirit!

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jdennist from United States
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Let me say, I don't mind schmaltz. I don't at all mind films with a message. But THE IDENTICAL was written by someone with no narrative skill, and the film's clichés are less bothersome than its total failure to make any use of its premise. It's hard to explain how badly the film stumbles in this regard without detailing the plot, but suffice to say I truly see no message that one could take away from it.

Yes, it's a film that details tangentially with faith, but the characters' religious values impact the story in no fundamental way. You could have made the "identical"'s father a lawyer for all the difference it actually makes. And the reference to the Six Day War is a total non sequitur.

But at film's end, no real lessons have been learned (even those who find themselves in the rather unlikely situation that the protagonist faces will find little of value here), no points have been made, and our time has been pretty thoroughly wasted.

I could talk about how bad the performances by Ray Liotta, Seth Green, and Joe Pantoliano are, or how Ashley Judd barely ages over 40+ years, or how the period detail is incredibly haphazard, or how creepy the serenade-courtship scene is, but I'll settle for saying this:

Calling this film inspirational because its characters are Christians is like calling The Wolf of Wall Street patriotic because its characters are Americans.

Blake Rayne is a famous Elvis impersonator. He was cast after one of his performances as Elvis garnered the casting director's attention.
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Hospital scene with Jenny on a chair holding a baby: just behind her to the right is a modern surface-mount junction box with RJ45 jacks, for Ethernet networking which was not yet invented.
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twins|reverend|rock 'n' roll|scene during end credits|adopted son|death|family secret|20th century|musician|voice over narration|

AKAs Titles:
Brazil - Idênticos
Russia - Такой же
Turkey (Turkish title) - Benzer Sesler

Release Dates:


Certifications:
USA:PG