Spoiler warning: This review contains spoilers for the film “Twinless” (2025).

“Twinless” is not the movie it advertises itself to be. Reading the premise of the movie, I was preparing myself for an emotional and ultimately touching experience, probably paired with a lot of tears; I cry a lot at movies. The film stars Dylan O’Brien as Roman who—following the death of his identical twin brother Rocky—joins a support group for grieving twins and forms an unlikely friendship with another member, Dennis (James Sweeney). Ultimately, it follows the progression of these two main characters’ relationship and its subsequent unravelling.

Initially, what drew me to the movie was its focus on the loss of a twin and the sort of gaping hole it leaves in the other. As a twin myself, it’s insanely scary to consider the idea that someday, the person who’s been my best friend since the day I was born might disappear from my life. My expectations were a film that would focus primarily on grief, healing through a shared bond, and maybe an eventual acceptance of death and a decision to move forward. Despite it being littered with cliches, there’s certainly nothing wrong with telling a heartwarming story like that. And while my prediction doesn’t completely deviate from the movie’s actual plot, it certainly missed the mark.

Obviously, the film still primarily focuses on the awful manifestations of grief, only “heartwarming” isn’t exactly the direct route it takes. That’s not to say it’s some kind of cynical commentary; in fact, there are a lot of sweet, hopeful scenes between characters as they navigate through tragedy. But somewhere in the film, there’s a twist; instead of featuring Rocky as the protagonist, it shifts to focusing on Dennis. And, speaking of Dennis, it’s revealed that he’s not a twin at all and hides ulterior motives to become closer with Roman. From there, the film tackles a multitude of other topics—queerness, the consuming nature of loneliness, self-deprecation, codependency, and the innate desire for companionship. There’s this big tonal shift into darker territory.

But that’s what I love most about the film; it’s a very real, very raw portrayal of all the messed-up things loneliness and grief might make a person do. Again, while the film certainly takes a more twisted tone than I’d initially expected, it’s not depressing or misanthropic; There’s a genuine sense of understanding between the movie’s main protagonists, and a heartwarming, healthy romance. It’s not afraid to feature characters with unlikeable qualities or who’ve done terrible things, and it’s definitely not afraid to subvert norms and dip its toes into uncomfortable topics; at the same time, it addresses these topics with tasteful and witty humor. The movie walks a tightrope and maintains a masterful balance of conflicting themes and ideas.

Additionally, the cinematography and writing throughout the movie is incredibly thought out. Sweeney, on top of delivering a stellar performance as Dennis, clearly had an incredible artistic vision for the film. Throughout the film, there’s a lot of clever positioning of shots that highlight isolation, as well as shots that emphasize the contrasting and conflicting relationship between the two main protagonists through split screens. Not to mention a lot of scenes have gorgeous color schemes and lighting.

Finally, I certainly can’t write a proper review about this movie without giving endless praise to the actors, O’Brien in particular. Not only does this movie flex his versatility by having him play identical twins with completely contrasting personalities, the emotional weight his acting brings to the movie is what made it such an enthralling watch. One scene sees him delivering a heartwrenching and incredibly well-acted monologue, one that critics are saying to be one of O’Brien’s best performances of his career, a sentiment I can’t help but echo. In a scene, Roman laments about everything he regrets saying to his brother and how, despite the fact they couldn’t be more different, he feels completely lost without him there to define who he is. It was such a phenomenal speech delivered with incredibly raw emotion, definitely making it the highlight of the film for me. Sweeney also has a standout performance, perfectly capturing the sort of self-deprecating, one-liner humor which characterizes the film and makes Dennis such a sympathetic character despite his ulterior motives and questionable actions.

While I can’t recommend it enough, “Twinless” is not the movie for everyone; admittedly, it doesn’t shy away from its exploration of uncomfortable or touchy topics. Ultimately, though, the film’s high ratings and reviews speak for itself; It’s adoringly comical, shockingly raw and just an incredibly written masterpiece that completely nails its messaging.

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