Twinless ★★★★★

Released: 6 February 2025

Director: James Sweeney

Starring: James Sweeney, Dylan O’Brien, Aisling Franciosi, Lauren Graham

‘It was like looking at a ghost, I’m sorry.’ When life deals you a devastating hand, it triggers the inconvenient siren call of rounding up people you’ve barely been tethered to throughout your existence. Consoling you. Quickly offering intended wisdom. Whilst these words feed into our fragile headspace, it can strengthen the irrationality of our actions alongside the multiple versions of how we present in those early days and weeks, in a desperate bid to cope. For many of us we can only imagine how further sobering bereavement can be, when it involves a twin, with those left to navigate the grief being constantly faced by an almost identical other. 

Toying with our perceptions both structurally and aesthetically. The exceptional ‘Twinless’ directed by James Sweeney is fittingly daring in its deconstruction of societal constructs and masculinity, amplifying how frightfully co-dependent we really are in a modern world that consistently leaves us withdrawn. 

On double duty is one Dylan O’Brien, with great emphasis on his admittedly dim yet considerate bro Roman, seeking solace at a support group as he looks to equalise against his explosive outbursts with his mother Lisa (Lauren Graham). Keen to find a semblance of common ground once more after the loss of his brother Rocky, he quickly strikes up a rapport with Dennis (also Sweeney) whose deadpan wit and gentle corrections make for welcome fillings to their ‘emotional sandwiches’ together. 

But amongst the coaxing out of respectively hard truths as they confront their inner demons, is there a further doubling up being concealed, threatening to hit them like a speeding car?

Sweeney’s wonderfully inventive direction is deliberately distant by design. The frequency of long shots and longing looks through bedroom mirrors as well as shop windows, reinforcing how on the surface these characters are barely piecing themselves together but underneath they are shattered, currently incapable of presenting a credible, consistent version of each other. 

Reinforced by the star/director’s utilisation of split screen and almost kaleidoscopic visual flourishes as the regular blues and pinks through costume and lighting play on gender norms, they cling to these distorted stories that offer mere crumbs of comfort in the long-term. 

Yet what sets ‘Twinless’ apart is its sheer maturity in navigating this increasingly unsettling dynamic between Roman and Dennis, recognising the strange toxicity that we become addicted to when we feel broken as we carry our emotional baggage around, whilst simultaneously leaving the door open for a level of forgiveness that can actually enable you to move forward.

Not content with just impressing behind the camera. Sweeney offers a superb performance as Dennis full of nuance and unpredictability, whose slow-burn unravelling from an initial position of being calm and collected is utterly compelling. Meanwhile it’s a career-best turn from Dylan O’Brien here, whose transitions from the quietly confident ‘under the covers’ charm of Rocky to the steely-eyed deeply profound outpourings he presents through Roman, make for an incredible foil.

An emotionally rich, darkly comic rollercoaster, with its impact marinating in my mind for days. ‘Twinless’ is a true original.