SUNDANCE: ‘Twinless’ Is A Career Best For Dylan O’Brien

Loss cuts differently for every person, and so does empathy. In writer-director James Sweeney‘s second feature film, Twinless (2025), we see what happens when your built-in best friend dies too soon. It stars Dylan O’Brien, James Sweeney, Lauren Graham, Aisling Franciosi, Tasha Smith, and Chris Perfetti.

Roman’s brother Rocky dies, leaving him in Portland, living in his brother’s apartment, and constantly being mistaken for him. With anger building up, Roman heads to therapy in the form of a bereavement support group for people who have lost a twin. Then, he meets Dennis, and a bromance starts. Forged through a trauma bond and completely opposite personalities and interests, the two twinless men begin to fill the void left by their other halves’ deaths.

Dennis is an anxious gay man who doesn’t feel at home being himself. Changing his personality to suit his situation, Dennis is riddled with insecurity. But when he’s with Roman, he feels normal, like everything is as it should be.

On the other hand, Roman is a himbo, which is the best way to describe him. Despite his anger issues, he’s sweet and trusting, and his lack of exploring the world builds up a naivete that makes you want to protect him. However, he does not know how to live without someone else to cling to. Despite growing distant from his twin Rocky, he still doesn’t know what it’s like to do anything alone.

Filled with grief and anger, the kindness he finds in Dennis is specific to the twin experience. Dennis is the only person who understands what it’s like to feel like you’ve been cut in half. But when Dennis steps in, he’s not alone anymore. Roman lived at home with his mother even when he didn’t have his brother. Dennis and Roman grocery shop together, fold laundry together, and just being in each other’s presence is a calming salve of their loneliness.

As the two get to know each other, they make a concerted effort to take care of each other. They play video games together, bonding over Roman’s love of The Sims. They go to hockey games. And this is where I write that the film is hard to review. It isn’t easy to unpack all of the complexity between Dennis and Roman without spoiling some of the film’s boldest choices.

Joy and grief take center stage in Twinless (2025).

Sweeney’s script and directorial eye make for a bittersweet story that embraces the intimacy shared in grief and the need for human connection. However, the film deftly and comedically restores and breaks your heart as the acts progress. As the two grow closer, they open up more, and one lie hangs heavy over them both.

Twinless (2025) deals with joy and grief in equal measure. The core of the film’s success is rooted in the fact that Dennis and Roman are unlikable at points. At the same time, even when you’re frustrated with them, you always feel for them. Despite the harm they cause, the pain behind the action is always surfaced. Empathetic without being apologetic, Twinless is a feature film with enormous weight.

This Sundance 2025 headliner is also Dylan O’Brien’s best performance. He brings two vastly different performances that each root themselves in loneliness. But it’s through Roman that O’Brien capitalizes on his depth of talent. He’s hurting and broken, but he yearns for kindness and love in a way that reaches through the screen. Through his expression and his voice, it’s hard not to feel his pain and fear.

But O’Brien’s acting is matched by James Sweeney’s portrayal of the neurotic and scared Dennis. While Roman lacks the emotional vocabulary to describe his loneliness, Dennis knows him too well. Sweeney is always funny, with a mean streak that he always adds one or two more words to make the shade round out to those hearing it in good faith. Roman is trying hard to hurt others, but Dennis’ actions showcase that hurt people hurt people and the desperation that drives that forward.

The fact that Sweeney is a triple threat in Twinless is astounding, but more importantly, it makes it so that I am clamoring for his next work. Twinless (2025) is a tender film, a comedy, a love story, a friendship story, and it’s one I won’t stop thinking about. Twinless is a beautiful entry into the queer film canon, and it’s one that champions compassion, understanding, and embracing even the ugliest sides of the people we care for.

Twinless screened as a part of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.