Film review: Twinless

I like films that are upfront about their subject from the title. James Sweeney’s Twinless is exactly about that: What happens to a surviving twin when the other passes away? Like the title, it’s an effective and straightforward picture that does a great job exploring the many intricacies and complexities of grief while adding a surprising element about identity.

The twin in question is Roman (Dylan O’Brien), seen first at his brother’s funeral next to his mother, Lisa (Lauren Graham). A series of unknowns wish him sympathies, but they all struggle to look at him because of his resemblance, heightening Roman’s already complicated and confusing state of mind. Roman and his twin, Rocky (also Dylan O’Brien, and what a performance from him, who excels in both roles), couldn’t be more different. Roman is very straight, very serious, not exactly bright, and is holding a hefty baggage of typical male insecurities that he tries not to convert into violence. Rocky was very gay and open, a social butterfly who charmed everyone around him. The two haven’t talked for a while, but still hold each other in the highest regard.

Roman decides to stay in Rocky’s apartment in Portland, get a job and attend a local support group for surviving twins, where he meets Dennis (James Sweeney), another twin dealing with the loss of his brother, who also happens to be gay, so he may be able to help Roman understand his late brother.

But there’s a twist at the start of this plot, which isn’t much of a spoiler as it happens right at the end of the first act before the credits kick in. Dennis isn’t really a twin but a former lover of Rocky, who was present when he died and has been following Roman in an attempt to deal with his own grief.

The two develop a friendship based on a lie that can never be disclosed, which is accentuated when Roman starts dating Marcie (Aisling Franciosi), a receptionist at Dennis’ work with a psychology degree whose positive take on life complements Roman’s need for stability.

I don’t have a twin, and neither has Sweeney, but I can see how well he understands the sense of aimlessness of grieving the loss of a person who is an extension of your own self. O’Brien’s performance makes Sweeney’s job half as easy, but I cannot take credit from the young filmmaker who takes the premise with the seriousness and care it deserves, because the film is never really about Dennis, even though he takes most of the screen time. The relationship between Rocky and Roman is the emotional core, even when Dennis’s lie drives the plot. At a certain point, it feels like Dennis’s concerns are romantic, but I’ll give Sweeney more credit that this is just a lonely and confused man ridden by so much guilt that he loses sense of right or wrong.

What is interesting is how different this could’ve played out. The premise is good. I’ll even say the premise is terrific. In the hands of someone from the Judd Apatow gang, this film would’ve been a safe screwball comedy with a bright tone and a happy ending. Give it to Tim Robinson (who gave us the terrific Friendship) and we would’ve had the most evil version of this story, that would’ve leaned into the uncomfortableness of Dennis’ loss of humanity. On the other hand, Sweeney respects the story’s emotional stakes and never lets either the comedy or the squirming aspect of the plot completely take over. And yet it remains a hilarious movie with terrific comedic timing.

It’s at the end that Sweeney’s experience comes through, and by extension, it reveals the elements of the film that failed to be elevated. Because all of it is in the right place, but it lacks a moral clarity that could’ve elevated the film to a five-star masterpiece (like, for example, this year’s Sorry, Baby, if we’re keeping with the low-budget indie realm). At the end, Sweeney tries to have his cake and eat it too by giving Dennis the closure his character didn’t really earn, nor, I reckon, understand. The dose of reality in the climax scene is a wake-up call for everyone involved, and a bittersweet conclusion (like Terry Zwigoff) would’ve been the perfect cherry on top.

But Twinless is still a great crowd pleaser made with humour and emotion. If Eva Victor had the spirit of Albert Brooks and Hal Ashby in her debut feature, I sense the shadow of Elaine May in Sweeney. And that’s enough to keep an eye on his career.

Verdict: 4 out of 5
This is for fans of cringing comedy who have their hearts in the right place. A simple modern indie comedy that would be hard to dislike.