Twinless – (2025)

Twinless is a 2025 American black comedy psychological drama film written and directed by James Sweeney. It stars Dylan O’Brien and Sweeney, alongside Aisling Franciosi, Lauren Graham, Tasha Smith, Chris Perfetti, François Arnaud, Susan Park and Cree Cicchino.

It had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2025, in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, where it received critical acclaim and won the Audience Award. It was released on September 5, 2025, by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions.

Plot

Roman, a young man grieving the death of his identical twin Rocky in a car accident, joins a support group for twinless twins. He quickly befriends fellow attendee Dennis. Unbeknownst to Roman, Dennis went on an intensely passionate date with Rocky shortly before he died; he also indirectly caused his death by distracting him immediately before he was struck by the car that killed him. Further, Dennis has lied about having a twin in order to get close to Roman.

Roman begins dating Dennis’ coworker Marcie, who notices inconsistencies in Dennis’s claims about his family life. She uncovers the truth and insists that Dennis disclose it too Roman. While sharing a hotel room after watching a hockey game together, a drunk Dennis begins sucking Roman’s toes while massaging his foot. When Roman declines his advances, Dennis admits the deception. A disgusted Roman punches Dennis repeatedly and leaves.

Roman and Dennis become socially isolated after their falling out. Sometime later, they meet at a diner and discuss Rocky and their friendship. In unison they ask a waitress for a to-go box, an idiosyncrasy once shared by Roman and Rocky.

Details

Run Time – 100 Min

Rotten Tomatoes – All Critics – 97% All Audience – 94%

Cast

Dylan O’Brien as Roman / Rocky
James Sweeney as Dennis
Aisling Franciosi as Marcie
Lauren Graham as Lisa, Rocky and Roman’s mother
Tasha Smith as Charlotte
Chris Perfetti as George
François Arnaud as Sammy
Susan Park as Sage
Cree Cicchino as Bianca

Production

In February 2024, it was announced Dylan O’Brien had joined the cast of the film, with James Sweeney set to direct and co-star from a screenplay he wrote, David Permut set to produce and Republic Pictures set to distribute. In May 2024, Aisling Franciosi and Lauren Graham joined the cast of the film. In August 2024, Tasha Smith, Chris Perfetti, François Arnaud, Susan Park and Cree Cicchino joined the cast of the film. Principal photography took place in Portland, Oregon.

Release and Reception

Twinless premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2025. In April 2025, Republic Pictures sold the film to other studios for its theatrical release, with Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions acquiring the U.S. distribution rights and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions acquiring the international rights. It is scheduled to be released on September 5, 2025.

When the film was made available to festival viewers who opted to view the film remotely online during Sundance, graphic clips and GIFs from the film showing Dylan O’Brien’s character having gay sex were leaked online by O’Brien’s fans and shared across the social media platforms Twitter and Tumblr. The clips were later taken down after copyright infringement claims were filed, and the film itself was later removed from the Sundance online platform.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 98% of 90 critics’ reviews are positive. The website’s consensus reads: “James Sweeney’s sophomore outing reveals a twisty, grief-ridden journey of the unexpected — buoyed by a perfectly sensitive Dylan O’Brien.” Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 80 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating “generally favourable” reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of “A” on an A+ to F scale.

Benjamin Lee of The Guardian termed it a “dark, inventive comedy”, adding that the “smart and highly unusual film earns its boundary-pushing because he never loses sight of the inescapable, human sadness at its core”. The Hollywood Reporter’s Lovia Gyarkye commended O’Brien’s dual performances, and was appreciative of Sweeney’s craft in “shifting between dry humor, gutting devastation and emotional poignancy”.

Commenting on Sweeney’s direction, Peter Debruge of Variety wrote, “On just his second film, the gifted young helmer demonstrates a sophisticated sense of framing, pace and exquisitely uncomfortable dramatic tension”.