Chatter Box Film

Twinless is a Sundance darling of a film – the film by writer-director James Sweeney who also stars, is a twisted romantic comedy with a dark, caustic undertow running throughout. 

Sweeney stars as Dennis, a loner, who is infatuated with Roman (Dylan O’Brien) a man he meets at a twinless counselling group meeting following the passing of Roman’s twin, Rocky (also O’Brien). Little does Roman know that Dennis is the reason, partly, that Roman is a sole twin now. This shocking moment is not revealed to us until almost thirty minutes 

This duplicity of Dennis, a man who is not averse to lying willingly to progress his career, is in sharp contrast to the very real way people are in his surrounding world. Marcie, a receptionist, at this work who starts a relationship with Roman shortly after a chance meeting at a party, is the sweetest girl in the world. Roman himself, is a heterosexual male but with significant anger issues and resentment towards his mother who loved Rocky more and never stops in saying so.

Dennis is merely looking to find a way into a place in the world, be it through lies or some other means. This is reminiscent of other young men (think Will Smith in Six Degrees of Separation) in film who manoeuvre into family dynamics. 

Sweeney has constructed a clever script – bold and funny in equal measure, going from comedy to dramatic notes with such assured flourishes. Enabled by a fantastic central performance by O’Brien who plays both brothers with the panache they require.

The film evokes for this viewer, a lot of Almodovar’s work; the flashes of colour that disrupt a scene, the quiet solitary moments of vulnerability for our main protagonists when in a bedroom, that moment of realisation when it washes over them hitting them like a, well maybe that is a bit too sore a metaphor.

Greg Cotten’s photography portrays the state of Portland as an introspective location with the overcast skylines and low level clouds adding to the air of pervading introversion for our characters. 

The culminating scene where the pair together ask ‘Can we get a box to go?’ – is the only thing they are in unison when it is time to part. Unlike the other occasions when they say different options available – separate/together, credit/refund – the only time they are together is when it is time to say goodbye.

A film that is as much about grief and connection as it is about relationships and the upheaval they can cause; this is bold filmmaking period and does not need to be pigeonholed as queer or gay cinema. This is a mainstream story and a springboard for its young cast to bigger and better things. 

Twinless, premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, and was met with widespread acclaim, earning the Audience Award in the US Dramatic Competition and a Special Jury Award for O’Brien’s exceptional performance. It’s success is a testament to the power of authentic storytelling, particularly in its unapologetic embrace of Queer narratives

Twinless is released from Park Circus films on 6th February.