‘Twinless’: Sundance Review

Dir: James Sweeney. US. 2025. 100 mins.

Roman (Dylan O’Brien) is newly twinless. An offscreen screech of tyres hints at what happened to his identical brother Rocky (also played by O’Brien when we learn more about him in flashback). The pacy set-up from writer/director James Sweeney then whisks us straight to Rocky’s graveside where the surrealness of Roman looking just like his dead brother from the mourners’ perspectives is played for laughs. Perspectives count in Sweeney’s film as their slippery nature allows him to surprise us early on in a way which would be a shame to reveal but which transports what initially looks like an odd couple bromance into considerably darker psychological terrain.

Juggles the sweeter moments and dark humour with well-observed considerations of grief and loneliness

Sweeney, whose comedy debut Straight Up received a best first screenplay nomination at the 2021 Independent Spirit awards, juggles the sweeter moments and dark humour with well-observed considerations of grief and loneliness. That should help Twinless attract global audiences after its premiere in Sundance’s US Dramatic Competition, with millennials particularly likely to be won over by well worked jokes focused on The Sims and the Olsen Twins.

Grief has left the introverted Roman with a short fuse, and an argument with his mother (Lauren Graham) prompts him to attend a bereavement group. There he meets Dennis (James Sweeney), who reveals he has also recently lost his twin. They don’t seem a likely match, given that Roman is a nice but dim jock type, while Dennis is gay, like Roman’s brother, and so sharp-witted it’s a wonder he doesn’t cut himself. Nevertheless they bond over sandwiches and grocery shopping, which is when Sweeney - as a scriptwriter and director - begins to show his hand as a master manipulator.

Having watched events from Roman’s perspective, we are now given a look at them from Dennis’ point of view, revealing that all may not be quite as it first appeared. From this point on, we know things that Roman doesn’t, which gives the outwardly jaunty humour a disturbing context.

O’Brien brings a soulful purity to Roman, finding a nice contrast between this portrayal and the embodiment of the mustachioed, self-confident and flirtatious Rocky, but he also allows Roman’s anger and grief to blossom unpredictably when it counts. Sweeney, meanwhile, has fun with the more complex and quick-talking Dennis. His friendship with Roman is a bright spot in his otherwise depressing existence, even as developments leave him increasingly conflicted.

Irish actor Aisling Franciosi - who was one of Screen’s Stars of Tomorrow in 2014 - also puts in memorable support as Dennis’ permanently peppy co-worker, who begins to take a shine to Roman. We soon come to learn she has a lot more going for her than Dennis suggests, as two looks like company and three’s a crowd.

Sweeney is good at the cut and thrust of dialogue and he doesn’t just play it straight as director either. He takes the idea of twinning to heart, using a split screen on several occasions in order to show two points of view simultaneously. This helps him to marry moments of sincerity to comedy or to lace a humorous stretch of dialogue with something more poignant courtesy of a reaction shot. Lyrical string-underpinned scoring from Jung Jae-Il adds a further grown-up touch.

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, including some ridiculous business involving twin mouthfuls of marshmallows. His ability to surprise means you’re never quite sure whether you’re going to be hit with a punchline or a sucker-punch emotional beat or, sometimes, the twin assault of both simultaneously. He may be crafty with comedy but he also ensures we care about what makes his characters tick.