Sundance 2025: Twinless Review

Sundance Audience Award winner offers double the feels

Dating as a twin is weird. Dating as a gay twin is even weirder. There’s always the prospect that siblings have similar taste, as do potential matches. This means that any swipe, fling, or first kiss could really be a case of déjà vu for the other party, which is a whole other level of weird. Twinless offers just about the strangest film a twin could watch this side of Saint-Narcisse. But also the funniest, loveliest, and most dead-on relatable comedy in some time.

The film double taps the heart with its sincerely sweet premise. Roman (Dylan O’Brien) meets Dennis (James Sweeney) at a bereavement group for twins. Roman has just lost his twin brother Rocky. It’s a moment of profound loss for him, having spent his entire life with another half.

So when he begins pouring his heart out over stale cookies and bad coffee, he can’t help but notice the attentive gaze Dennis gives from across the circle. Roman, with his hunched shoulders and sullen demeanour, seems defeated, having never expected that the B Twin would outlive the A Twin.

When the group pauses for a coffee break, Dennis makes his way over to Roman at the refreshments table and admits that he doesn’t mind a pair of cookies that taste like balls when Roman cautions him to avoid the snacks. It’s a funny pick up line, liking the taste of balls, but obviously an effective one. Roman quickly shares that his twin brother or, late twin brother Rocky was gay. Roman’s straight, but he’s intrigued by the idea that that two twins could share such a profound difference when Dennis and his brother were both gay. Or in Dennis’s case, still is.

Cut to before times and Roman’s twin brother Rocky (O’Brien again) is strutting down the street. Looking amazingly full of life with his handlebar mustache, tight jeans, and stylish shoes, he gives off confidence and energy that Roman lacks. There’s just a jolt of personality to this twin. He strolls by the same Portland restaurant where Roman and Dennis shared a sandwich mere minutes before. A slightly more awkward Dennis walks out of the cafe and straight (ha) into Rocky. It’s like déjà vu, having just witnessed Dennis and Roman strike up such a natural friendship in the preceding scene.

Rocky and the guy who looks a lot like Dennis really hit it off. It’s like love at first or second sight. O’Brien and Sweeney have electric chemistry here, conjuring a palpable spark whereas their rapport in the bereavement offers cozy comfort. As the two men flirt, strolling the sidewalk and feeling each other’s groove, they find their way to Rocky’s bedroom.

The conversation gets a little weird, as it inevitably does, when guys find out their seeing a twin. But the shared revelation proves a mutual turn-on. They quickly mussy the sheets and pound all corners of the bed in a sweetly hilariously tryst. Their hook-up doubles down as a comedic punctuation mark between two romantic scenes as they enjoy a really intense, slightly freaky, very tender, and extremely hot moment as conjoined twins.

Without giving too much away, Twinless spectacularly runs with its darkly comedic cocktail of love and loss. As Roman turns to Dennis, seemingly seeking to regain his relationship with his estranged, and now departed, twin, he seeks his other half and long lost friend. Dennis, meanwhile, seems determined to challenge just how identical Roman and Rocky were. Roman, for all appearances, is straight and not at all curious. But they navigate a surrogate twinship, enjoying a platonic shoulder in the grieving process.

Sweeney, making his sophomore feature as writer/director—and star!—offers a refreshingly authentic romantic comedy unlike anything I’ve seen before. The film really gets the dynamic of being a twin and the way that twins have such distinct and unique relationships. Moreover, by pairing it with such an unconventional love story, and one that dexterously straddles very dark tones and themes, Twinless ultimately offers a very touching consideration of soul mates. Whether in love, family, or friendship, the film asks if any two people are destined to have their “other half.” But it also gets the profound sense of loss that arises when twins drift apart or find themselves replaced as relationships develop.

The director/writer/star also gives a wonderfully heartfelt performance that juggles awkwardness and tenderness. O’Brien, meanwhile, is alternatively vulnerable and mercurial, deftly handling the trickier part tasked with the film’s emotional high notes. O’Brien justly received a special prize at Sundance for his performance, but the jury arguably should have let the actors share it. One performance completes the other. Sweeney and O’Brien are as well-matched a set as identical twins here. They give double the laughs, double the feels, and double the love.

Twinless premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.



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