Netflix’s newest documentary, Tell Me Who I Am, explores the unshakeable bond between twin brothers — one who lost his memory and one who would do anything to protect him from his traumatic past, even if it means rewriting history. Based on a 2013 memoir of the same name, the documentary from director Ed Perkins tells the story of Alex and Marcus Lewis.
In 1982, a motorcycle accident and subsequent coma completely wiped Alex’s memory. His twin brother, Marcus, was the only person he remembered, and he helped Alex rebuild his life. But it wasn’t until years later that Alex came across evidence that Marcus had kept details of childhood abuse from him. The truth about the abuse finally comes out in an emotional scene between the brothers in the documentary, a moment which Alex said gave them “closure beyond anything I could have imagined.”
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“That’s an incredible gift the film has given us,” Alex told Decider ahead of the film’s premiere. Marcus added, “We want it to be a conversation that’s not taboo.”
Today, both brothers are married with kids and, despite their harrowing past, remain tighter than ever. Marcus lives in London while Alex resides just outside of London, and the two enjoy traveling. Together they run Fundu Lagoon, a luxury resort hotel on Pemba Island, part of Tanzania's Zanzibar Archipelago, off the coast of East Africa.
Marcus’s children are 10 and 12 years old, while Alex’s children are 13 and nine. Alex admitted that the two are a “little bit soft” on their kids given their own childhood experiences, though he also noted they’re also “quite overprotective” of them.
The brothers said it has taken about “15 to 20 times” watching Tell Me Who I Am to feel comfortable with it, but ultimately they’re proud of the story they shared with Netflix and the rest of the world.
“We don’t feel we’ve made a movie about sexual abuse — we hope we haven’t anyway,” Alex said. “We think we made a movie about love.”
Tell Me Who I Am is available to stream on Netflix now.