Twinless film review: Grief with a dark twist
James Sweeney's genre-bending follow-up feature turns loss into an unsettling psychological thriller
In the wake of his twin brother Rocky’s death, Roman (Dylan O'Brien) is bereft. He is grieving the person who knew him best, while those around him provide constant reminders of everything Rocky was and he isn’t: popular, smart, witty. He finds himself at a support group for people who have lost a twin and there he meets Dennis, played by writer and director James Sweeney. The two click instantly and there’s a sense that perhaps each is using the other to replace the twin they’ve lost.
Twinless begins as a quirky dark comedy, with sharp back-and-forth dialogue and dry millennial humour, but Sweeney’s sophomore feature is far more than meets the eye. It’s difficult to talk about a film where the big plot twist occurs around the 20-minute mark but, suffice to say, this isn’t just another off-kilter tragicomedy: Twinless morphs into something much darker and far more compelling.
The sudden shift to psychological thriller is guided by Sweeney’s deft performance. Dennis is intelligent and charismatic, and we see immediately why Roman is drawn to him, but there’s a pathetic, needy quality lurking beneath the surface. Meanwhile, O'Brien imbues typical straight guy Roman with an earnest sweetness that becomes the film’s emotional anchor. With such well-rounded characters, it’s difficult to label anyone a true villain.
Indeed, one of Twinless' greatest strengths is that it never lets our sympathies settle in one place. Every secret, every betrayal, is tinged with grief. Beyond the genre-bending and black humour, it ultimately remains a story about loss.
Twinless is in cinemas from Friday 6 February.