2025 Sundance Film Festival Movie Review: Twinless

I remember seeing Dylan O’Brien for the first time in the 2013 Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson-led comedy The Internship. Shortly after this film, O’Brien’s career blew up as he was the star of the TV show Teen Wolf and would be the lead in the film adaptations of The Maze Runner. With his growing popularity, choices in big-named projects, and classic good looks, O’Brien was on his way to becoming a full-blown movie star. 

But over the last few years, O’Brien’s career has veered away from being a movie star and more toward an interesting character actor. With performances in The Outfit, Not Okay, and last year’s Saturday Night where O’Brien portrayed SNL alum and comedic icon Dan Ackroyd, O’Brien has shown his ability to blend within an ensemble and give strong performances of interesting characters. 

In writer/director/co-star James Sweeney’s Twinless, the buddy dramedy that premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, O’Brien gives the best performance of his career in a performance that combines his skill as a character actor with his movie star potential.

O’Brien stars as Roman and Rocky. Rocky is smooth, charming, articulate, and gay. Roman is a straight bro who could lose his temper at any time and isn’t exactly Shakespeare with words. Roman’s world is shattered when Rocky dies tragically after getting struck by a car. Roman is almost unable to function following this, constantly yelling at his mother (Lauren Graham) and unsure how to live his life without his other half. He goes to a meeting for people who have lost a twin and starts to bond with Dennis (Sweeney). The two fill the hole in each other’s lives. Roman says Dennis, a gay man, reminds him of Rocky and Dennis says Roman reminds him of his late twin.

O’Brien’s dual performance is spectacular. As Roman, O’Brien portrays a man who has no idea how to handle his emotions. He’s a ticking time bomb that could go off at any time and his way of solving problems is with his fists. He’s an idiot, but a cute one and he tries his best. As Rocky, we see O’Brien at his most charismatic. Though we only see Rocky for a few scenes, you see how charming and smooth he is. He lights up anyone around him and walks with confidence. O’Brien shows he can have chemistry with anyone, particularly with Marcie (a delightful Aisling Franciosi), a co-worker of Dennis who catches Roman’s eye.

Sweeney’s screenplay is a sensational. It is a layered screenplay with an interesting perspective on the loss of a family member, healing, loneliness, and friendship. Every character is rounded and interesting. I was especially impressed by Sweeney’s handling of Marcie, a normally paper-thin character who has depth, and the handling of the film’s ending, which could have gone off the rails in the hands of a less-talented writer.

Led by a showcase performance by Dylan O’Brien and a sharp screenplay by Sweeney, Twinless is a funny, sad, winning film.

Twinless premiered in the U.S. Dramatic category at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

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