‘Twinless’ offers a unique narrative for grief and found family
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This isn't a Throwback in the slightest, however it is the most recent movie I watched. So I hope I can be forgiven this time. (Since, unlike past reviews, I can't justify it in that category in the slightest.)
On Saturday morning, before the big storm landed and dropped a foot of snow on this area, I was settling in to rewatch "Bob's Burgers" -- as I often do -- when I stumbled on 2025's "Twinless" starring Dylan O'Brien and James Sweeney.
The movie follows Roman (O'Brien) and Dennis (Sweeney) as they begin to form a somewhat co-dependent friendship after meeting at a support group for individuals who have lost their twin.
I went into this movie assuming I understood the concept. It seemed pretty straight forward to me: two people who lost functionally a part of themselves that they've known since the womb try to find that person again in another.
And, to some extent, that's sort of true. But there are certainly some twists that I didn't expect. Don't worry, you won't have to wait forever for that twist. It happens early on and helps set the tone for the rest of the movie.
To put it in as vague of terms as I can: One of them has a secret.
Outside of the main plotline, the characters' individual journeys were interesting to watch.
O'Brien, not surprisingly, carries this movie with his performance as twin brothers Roman and Rocky.
Rocky was the "successful" twin, living in Portland after stints in other countries such as Japan. He was a socialite, constantly making new friends and connections with others.
Meanwhile Roman is much more reserved and still living at home in Moscow, Idaho with his mom, Lisa (Lauren Graham).
The sudden death of his brother pushes Roman out of his shell. He suddenly finds himself staying in Portland to try and settle Rocky's affairs and creates his own home. He meets Dennis and, through him, Marcie (Aisling Franciosi) along the way.
But through this growth, there's also a lot of regret and resentments just below the surface.
O'Brien does a really fantastic job portraying both brothers, giving them their own personalities and characteristics. They didn't necessarily need to give Rocky a mustache compared to Roman's stubbled face in my opinion.
Dennis's character is also extremely thought provoking. Personally, I felt his character was super layered and -- at times -- you can find yourself seeing his perspective and being sympathetic and then immediately doing an about-face and disliking him. It's what makes him extra human.
Just like Roman, he's grieving too. Just in a much different way.
Sprinkled into the movie are some good comedic moments to help ease the heavy topic of death and grief that lingers over the entire story.
It took me a couple of days to fully digest this movie and decide how I felt about it. I think overall I'd definitely recommend it.
The movie was actually directed by Sweeney and was his sophomore film and I have to give him major kudos. It's really hard sometimes to find a movie that I can't predict (no hate to other filmmakers, there's just a LOT of movies out there and sometimes there's overlap). However, he managed to create something that surprised me more than once.
It was the type of movie where I was able to feel some of the characters' emotions while watching it because it could be relatable. For example: When Marcie and Dennis tag along with Roman to Idaho for Christmas and the two have to pretend everything is fine while he and his mom argue.
I'd definitely recommend "Twinless" to others to watch at least once. It's an interesting movie that shows found families can come along in the strangest of ways.
"Twinless" is available to watch on Hulu and is rated R for some violence and sexual situations.
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Laura Jameson is Managing Editor of The Express.