Twinless

Grief is seldom this entertaining.

Even without its numerous rug-pulls, which occur early enough that the movie soon takes on an entirely different tone, Twinless is a masterful example of shifting cinematic POV.

Twinless mines a steady drumbeat of solid laughs from the mismatched energy of its co-leads, and the Pinter-like precision of Sweeney’s dialogue is especially well-suited to the scenes where Dennis and Roman are talking at each other on completely different wavelengths.

Twinless is a masterfully crafted and thought-provoking dramedy that’s sure to leave you with much to grapple with. Beyond being thematically rich and carefully assembled, it’s also just a really good time.

It’s not just the structure of the film that is clever, Sweeney varies his joke delivery, so that there is a mix of one-liners and more slow-burn humour alongside a raft of sight gags.

The film is a bizarrely moving and darkly comic story about feeling like you’ve lost something you never had.

Whenever the film was on the verge of losing me, O'Brien's steady, remarkable performance brought me back. He really is that good here, and honestly, that might just be enough.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Finding compatible companions – let alone good friends or romantic prospects – seems to have become considerably more problematic than it once was. Such kindreds appear to be more elusive nowadays, and forging meaningful, lasting connections with them – for whatever reason – has become fundamentally more difficult, sometimes driving us to great lengths and even acts of desperation. That can be especially true for those in communities that fall outside the mainstream, as well as those grieving the passage of loved ones who are having trouble recovering from their losses. And now, in this latest offering from actor-writer-director James Sweeney, audiences get an opportunity to witness these dynamics play out firsthand in an unlikely but affecting, heart-tugging scenario. When Roman (Dylan O’Brien) and Dennis (Sweeney) each lose their identical twin siblings, both seek comfort in the company of a support group for those similarly situated. Before long, their chance meeting leads to the development of a close friendship, one that seems to fill the void left by the deaths of their siblings. In addition to becoming pals, Dennis and Roman also provide encouragement and solace for one another as they work through the pain of loss. But, despite the relationship that emerges between them, something doesn’t feel quite … right. As background details begin to surface, matters don’t add up as thought, even though this has nothing to do with such things as the basic differences that exist between them (Dennis is gay but Roman is not, even though his late twin brother, Rocky, was). So what exactly is going on here? To say more would reveal too much, but suffice it to say that intriguing developments wait in the wings. And these revelations are very much tied to the considerations discussed at the outset above. In many ways, “Twinless” represents a continuation of themes the filmmaker first explored in “Straight Up” (2019), an examination of the loneliness and search for connection that many of us are looking for these days, particularly among those who belong to constituencies that feel inherently marginalized. Like its predecessor, this engaging comedy-drama accomplishes that goal through a cleverly constructed, intelligently crafted narrative that follows an intriguing and entertaining path in unwinding its story, one filled with gentle though occasionally chancy humor, touching moments (without becoming mawkish, manipulative or clichéd), inventive yet credible plot twists, and honest, hard-earned insights. Ultimately this offering may not provide definitive answers to all the questions it poses, but it nevertheless serves up clues about how we may have arrived at where we’re at, as well as possible strategies for working through our sorrows and loneliness and how to move past them so that we don’t feel quite as isolated going forward.

Sweeney deftly threads a needle between humor and pain and makes potentially intolerable characters into appealing protagonists.

“Twinless” is an unusual blend of dark comedy, psychological drama, and aching character study.James Sweeney takes a huge risk here by weaving humor into a story built on grief, loneliness, and obsession, and it pays off. What struck me most wasn’t just the twisty structure, but how believable the interactions felt. The humor is offbeat and oddly specific in the way real people talk when they’re breaking tension. After a brutal confrontation outside a bar, Roman (Dylan O’Brien) mutters, “Man, I thought Gen Z was supposed to be nice.” It’s the kind of throwaway line you can imagine someone actually blurting out in the moment, and it grounds the film in authenticity. Dylan O’Brien delivers a career-defining performance. The film initially frames him as a familiar archetype, the gym-rat twin, broad-shouldered and a little dim. But as the story unfolds, he reveals extraordinary depth: rage, grief, tenderness, and fragility that expand far beyond the surface. Watching him inhabit both Roman and Rocky with such precision, two brothers sharing a face yet feeling like entirely different souls, makes the story ache with authenticity. It’s a reminder not to put anyone in a box, on screen or off. James Sweeney blurs the line between writer and character. In real life, Sweeney has spoken about begging for a twin as a child, idolizing twin duos, and even once dating an identical twin. That lifelong “twin obsession” became the seed for this story. That personal history comes through in his portrayal of Dennis, the lonely outsider who lies about being a twin. When Dennis voices his yearning for connection, it doesn’t feel like fiction. It feels lived-in, and that gives the film its unsettling power. At its core, Twinless is about two griefs colliding: Roman’s grief for losing his twin, and Dennis’s grief for never having had one. One is grounded in reality, the other in aching fantasy created by a lifelong loneliness. Watching those needs twist together, tender, obsessive, and destructive, is what makes the film linger. While this film may not be for everyone, its themes of grief and loneliness are universal. It’s messy, emotionally raw, and sometimes confusing by design. But that’s its strength. It doesn’t tie grief up neatly. It leaves you unsettled, thinking about what was left unsaid, unseen, unresolved. Verdict: Bold, unsettling, and often darkly funny. A film that makes you laugh, wince, and ache in equal measure.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]