Twinless

Written, directed and starring James Sweeney, Twinless opens with Roman (Dylan O’Brien) struggling to cope with the death of his identical twin brother Rocky. To help process his grief, Roman attends a support group for bereaved twins. It’s here he meets Denis (Sweeney), who instantly reminds him of his sibling. The pair quickly strike up a friendship and begin to find a way to navigate their grief together. Just before the feature settles into the buddy comedy outing that Sweeney has teed up, the filmmaker drops a bombshell on viewers that reframes everything when it’s revealed that Denis is harbouring a secret. From here, the film’s exploration of grief and loneliness becomes much more profound.

O’Brien and Sweeney are great together. Their awkward but endearing grocery trip, which signals the beginning of their friendship, serves as the baseline for their relationship. Roman isn’t “the brightest tool in the shed”, as he puts it, and is consumed by anger, while Denis is the complete opposite. As time goes on and the characters begin to open up more to each other, their performances only get stronger. Sweeney’s script beautifully captures the pain that each character is going through, with O’Brien delivering one of this film’s most poignant moments in a powerful monologue. Aisling Franciosi rounds out the main cast as Marcie, Roman’s perpetually upbeat love interest, in another compelling turn.

The journey that the unlikely friends go on is coloured with moments of dark humour, indie movie charm (that’s made all the better with an ethereal score), and outbursts of violence. It’s a peculiar palette of tones, but Sweeney knows exactly when and how to deploy each for maximum effect. The humour may take some time to warm up to, however. There’s an intentionally uneasy atmosphere to some of the early gags, but by the time Roman starts speaking Simlish at a Halloween party, viewers will be fully on board with what the filmmaker is going for.

Twinless is a movie that catches you by surprise. Not only does its reveal have the power to stay with viewers long after the credits roll, but the depth that Sweeney takes its themes and characters to surpasses all expectations.

Andrew Murray

Twinless does not have a release date yet.

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