‘Twinless’ Movie Review: Twisted Dramedy Pulls Off High-Wire Act With Ease
Photo from Roadside Attractions
From Jeremy Kibler
Twinless plays out like an understated thriller about obsession and deception through the prism of a quirky indie bromance. But really, it operates on a few different levels: it’s a twisted comedy about manipulation and human complexity, and it’s a bittersweet drama about loneliness and the sacred bond between twins. Poignant, darkly funny, effectively uncomfortable, and constantly surprising, this is an impressive sophomore effort from writer-director-actor James Sweeney (Straight Up) and an incredible performance showcase for Dylan O’Brien.
At a twin bereavement support group (led by Tasha Smith) in Portland, Dennis (Sweeney) and hunky, sweet, not-so-sharp Roman (O’Brien) end up hitting it off. Hailing from Moscow, Idaho, Roman has just lost his gay twin brother, Rocky (O’Brien again, duh), in a sudden accident, and Dennis has lost his twin brother over a year ago. They start out as pals and grocery buddies, until Dennis becomes a little infatuated with Roman. Dennis is holding on to a big, unforgivable lie. Well, two big, unforgivable lies. Well, multiple lies.
Always teetering on the brink of collapsing, Twinless is a deftly constructed high-wire act. How James Sweeney makes his own unlikable protagonist compelling, while managing such jarring tonal shifts with masterful ease, go to show just how talented he is as a storyteller and filmmaker in an early career. The beauty of Sweeney’s provocative and razor-sharp script is that perception and reality meet pretty early on—about twenty minutes actually, when the main titles begin—ensuring that the story is always honest with the viewer and not hinging on big, gimmicky reveals. This is a story about lonely hearts and the desire of having human connection, and it’s as touching and deeply fucked-up as one can be.
Sweeney, then, gives himself a tricky part, and he’s exceptional. Dennis is the worst and a little insufferable—he’s bitchy, needy, and a pathological liar—but Sweeney makes sure you can’t stop watching him with a sort-of awkward confidence. Dylan O’Brien pulls off dual performances as Roman and Rocky, who are twins but distinctly different people (that’s called range, baby). Enormously charismatic and confident as Rocky in flashbacks, O’Brien is sweet, sensitive, and completely sympathetic, if a little insecure and volatile, when playing Roman. It’s particularly endearing when Roman confuses ripe lemons with limes and mixes up idioms, like “brightest tool in the shed.” In supporting roles that still leave a mark, Aisling Franciosi (Speak No Evil) is charming as ever as Marcie, the extremely friendly receptionist at Dennis’ work, and Lauren Graham makes the most of her little screen time with genuine pain as Roman and Rocky’s mother.
Behind the camera, Sweeney brings a fair amount of visual flair, including the passage of time as Dennis records multiple different voicemail greetings and a split-screen sequence at a Halloween party where Dennis and Roman (dressed as Sims characters) each split off with possible dates. Twin iconography is littered throughout in amusing and subtle ways, like Dennis watching the Olsen twins in It Takes Two, down to the pitch-perfect ending of being in-sync. The score by composer Jung Jae-il is a mixture of twinkly hope and anxiety, and any film that finds a reason to use Evan & Jaron’s 2000s pop-rock single “Crazy for This Girl” as its own running song is doing something right.
As everything is laid bare, the viewer aligns themselves more on the side of Roman, but we still want to see how it will all come out with Dennis. That’s the magic trick Sweeney pulls off. In the end, he finds so much painful truth in the lies we tell ourselves and to others. Whether or not total forgiveness is deserved by the resolution of this story, Twinless earns every emotion it wrings out of our upended expectations.
Rating: 4.5/5
Twinless is currently in theaters.
