Twinless? Steven says 4/5

Twinless tells the story of Dennis (James Sweeney) and Roman (Dylan O’Brien), two men who meet at a grief counseling group for people mourning the loss of a twin. Roman is shattered after his brother Rocky dies in a car crash, his grief spilling out in anger, depression, and an aching loneliness for the bond he’s lost. Dennis seems to fill that void, becoming the connection Roman so desperately needs. But as their friendship grows, it becomes clear that Dennis is hiding more about his own past than he lets on.

What starts out as a quiet, melancholy indie dramedy slowly shifts gears, building toward a climax that’s as surprising as it is devastating.

Dylan O’Brien gives one of his best performances here. His take on Roman is layered and raw, showing a man crushed by grief and suffocated by his own masculinity. Yet in his moments with Dennis, you watch him soften, clinging to a comfort that reminds him of Rocky. O’Brien also gets to show a completely different side of himself, channeling Rocky’s playful, extroverted spirit in a way that feels like watching two totally separate people inhabit the same body. It’s a performance that’s both heartbreaking and mesmerizing.

What makes Twinless stand out is how unapologetically queer it is. Not in the usual “coming out” narrative that major studios love to push out, but simply by centering queer characters and letting them exist as they are. It’s funny, it’s painful, and yes, there are moments of secondhand embarrassment that will make you want to look away, but that’s exactly the point. Grief is messy. Life is messy. And this film doesn’t shy away from that.

In the end, Twinless is funny, sad, cringey, and deeply human all at once. It’s proof that queer stories don’t need to justify themselves or lean on clichés, they just need to be told. Hollywood should take notice: audiences are more than ready for films that go beyond the coming-out story and show the full spectrum of queer life, love, and loss.

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