Werner Herzog returns to narrative filmmaking with *Bucking Fastard*, a surreal drama about sisters Jean and Joan Holbrooke, played by Kate and Rooney Mara. Their extraordinary closeness, shared lover and ensuing scandal lead to a sensational court case, but the film struggles to balance its dark humour, eccentricity and attempts at psychological explanation.

Inspired by the real-life Chaplin twins, the sisters finish each other’s sentences, dress alike and appear almost inseparable. Although the film’s first half finds appeal in their naïve bond and bizarre world, its focus on social exploitation and codependency becomes inconsistent; introducing a social worker to explain their behaviour ultimately weakens the story’s more compelling folktale-like strangeness.