Twinless | Dir: James Sweeney | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Opening at a funeral, the premise of the film about grief, loneliness and identity is bleak. Thirty-something Roman (Dylan O’Brien) and his mother (Lauren Graham) are obviously devastated by the sudden death of Roman’s twin brother Rocky (also played by O’Brien).
The humour is black, with Rocky’s grieving friends wanting to comfort Roman, but they are unable to look at the remaining identical twin who reminds them so much of the person that has been taken from them.
Rocky was everything Roman, who describes himself as not being “the brightest tool in the shed”, is not. Rocky never left the small town where they grew up but Rocky was educated, successful and gay. Sorting through his brother’s possessions gives Roman an excuse to stay in his brother’s city apartment and try to come to terms with the loss of his other half.
After a heated argument with his mother, Roman goes to a support group for people who have also lost their twin – leaving them twinless. It is here that he meets Dennis (James Sweeney) who is also grieving the loss of his twin. Attempting to know his brother better, Roman becomes friends with Dennis who is educated and gay.
The two men become indispensible in each other’s lives and develop such a codependency that Dennis longs for more. However, the strongly heterosexual Roman becomes involved with Lisa (Aisling Franciosi) who works with Dennis. That seems to be the beginning of unexpected, incredibly bonkers twists and turns in the plot as the audience begins to connect dots.
The film becomes a brilliantly original psychological thriller as motivations are revealed, but the writer, director and star of the film James Sweeney said at Sundance that the less you know about this twisty, often jaw-droppingly unexpected nature of Twinless, the more you will enjoy it.
Twinless is screening now, in Perth catch it at Luna Cinemas.
Lezly Herbert
