★★★½ (3½ out of 4)
You won’t find a better movie around this week than “Twinless,” a dark comedy which won the all-important Audience Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and now opens nationwide in theaters where new audiences won’t know what the hell hit them. That’s a great feeling. You’ll want to try it.
James Sweeney and Dylan O’Brien have built characters with such attention to the pain of loneliness and the way love can heal, that we’re with them every step of the way. This you don’t want to miss.
The hero of these two indelible hours is James Sweeney, who wrote and directed this weird, wonderful and wild thing and acts beautifully in it as Dennis, a twin from Portland, Oregon, whose brother Dean we’re told died about 18 months ago.
At a bereavement support group for grieving twins—there are such things—the gay Dennis meets the aggressively straight Roman, a jock whose twin brother, Rocky, has recently died in a car crash leaving a void that Roman can’t fill. At Rocky’s funeral, we can feel Roman’s loss as his mother (Lauren Graham), who clearly favored her late son, greets mourners who are amazed and a bit disoriented at Roman’s resemblance to his identical twin.
All praise to O’Brien for playing both twins—the overtly flamboyant Rocky in flashbacks—with such vibrant humor and ferocious feeling. It’s a dual triumph for O’Brien that turns the “Maze Runner” star and teen dream into a standout actor who seems on the cusp of an extraordinary career, the kind that makes viewers eager to see his next move.
There’s an exuberance to the scenes of Dennis and Roman getting to know each other as a definite odd couple. Yet they bond, in ways that are hilarious and heartfelt as they shop together, play video games, sing their favorite songs and almost subconsciously try to fill the void left by the absence of their lookalike siblings.
As a filmmaker, Sweeney can pull you up short, switching moods on a dime as both young men try to become a surrogate twin to the other. When darkness edges into the comedy, we begin to feel an emotional vibe roiling under the surface that Sweeney is not quick to give away or cheapen with prosaic explanations.
Yes, friends, it’s time to issue the infamous spoiler warning, a caution to read no more until you can see this raw and riveting spellbinder for yourself. As a filmmaker, Sweeney can throw you curveballs, such as the addition of Dennis’ co-worker, Marcie (a terrific Aisling Franciosi), as a romantic interest for Roman. But it’s Dennis and Roman, two bruised romantics, who pull you in.
In its second half, “Twinless” strays from laughs into the thornier sides of relationships, in which secrets, lies and betrayals can cause connections to collapse. Yet Sweeney has built his characters with such attention to the pain of loneliness and the way love can heal, that we’re with them every step of the way. This you don’t want to miss.