TL;DR – A fascinating and often confronting look at a very particular type of grief.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Twinless Review Introduction –

Today, we are looking at a film that is probably the penultimate film of the year for 2025. A movie that was much requested and with which I knew nothing about before pressing play beyond a vague understanding that it was delving into the dark comedy space. Sometimes this can be a burden, but today’s film is one of those interesting jaunts that may be better with the viewer knowing as little as possible before walking in.

So, to set the scene, we open with a screech of tyres, a sound of a thud, and then an awkward funeral. It is very difficult for Roman (Dylan O’Brien) because the deceased in this case is his identical twin brother. After a difficult fight with his mother, Lisa (Lauren Graham), Roman decides to seek out some help and joins a support group for those who lost their twin. It is here that he meets Dennis (James Sweeney), another twin who lost their twin. Roman’s life is spinning out of control, and Dennis is a stabilising factor, until…

Uncomfortableness

At the core of this film is a current of uncomfortableness that works on multiple different levels. On the surface, we have the grief that Roman must go through, processing both his personal grief and having to process everyone else’s grief as he is a walking reminder of their loss. I can’t imagine what that would do to you when you are already at your lowest. Then there is the conceit of the rest of the film, which I have to talk about, but it is better if you don’t know, so there will be [SPOILERS] going forward.

The next deeper level is the level of uncomfortableness that you, as the audience, feel as you know how deceitful Dennis is being. As you are watching, the best you can think of for him is that he got in over his head and now he is stuck in a lie. However, if I would not give Dear Evan Hansen the benefit of that doubt, I won’t be doling it out here. As an audience, you almost feel complicit in the deceit, as Roman’s catharsis is built on a rotten foundation, and we know. This is the leading hook of the film, and I have to say that it is an effective one, right up until it becomes a detriment to the film, which we will talk about in a bit.     

Cast

As this is a smaller cast, it means that every role becomes so much more important. I think this is the best I have seen Dylan O’Brien as he captures the pain of someone who feels left behind by everyone who meant something. The pain, the hurt, the loss. He has one of the best monologues of the year, and it broke my heart watching it. James Sweeney is the writer/director, but also what I want to call the antagonist, for lack of a better word. But he plays him with what I want to call a compassion that you can almost forget at times what he did. They create such a dynamic bond throughout the film, which also extends to all the supporting players who give fascinating performances. A good example of this is Aisling Franciosi, who might be the heart of the film as Marcie.  

Brokenness

As the film progresses, what you see is the interplay of brokenness as it ripples through the world. Dennis was probably a very broken person before he met Rocky (Dylan O’Brien), but that interaction fractured his world. Roman was broken before the first frame of this film, as the twin that didn’t fit, the twin who used his fists, and then as the twin that was left. We see those fractures in the framing of the film as it delves into more and more split-screen moments as things progress. Because of this brokenness and uncomfortableness, it did leave me struggling through the back part of the film, when you know the reveal is inevitable. It is here where the film did start to drag for me from a pacing perspective. It also left me wondering if everyone who gets to walk back their errors should have gotten that opportunity.   

Recommendation

In the end, do we recommend Twinless? Personally, this won’t be a film for everyone, but for a certain audience it will resonate on a profoundly deep level. For those people, this film could be revelatory, but I still don’t think that will be a lot of people.   

Have you watched Twinless? Let us know what you thought in the comments below. If you liked Twinless, we would recommend The Banshees of Inisherin to you because it also explores the twisted bond that friendship can become at times.  

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Twinless
Directed by – James Sweeney
Written by – James Sweeney
Music by – Jung Jae-il
Cinematography by – Greg Cotten
Edited by – Nik Boyanov
Production/Distribution Companies – Stage 6 Films, Republic Pictures, Lionsgate, Roadside Attractions & Sony Pictures
Starring – Dylan O’Brien, James Sweeney, Aisling Franciosi, Chris Perfetti, François Arnaud, Tasha Smith, Lauren Graham, Susan Park & Cree
Rating  – Australia: MA15+; Canada: na; Germany: na; New Zealand: R; United Kingdom: 15; United States: R