TWINLESS
Starring: Dylan O’Brien, James Sweeney, Lauren Graham, and Aisling Franciosi
Director: James Sweeney
AMARÚ
Twinless features a moving dual performance from Dylan O’Brien and a breakout turn from director/co-lead James Sweeney. They’re stirring in their roles, which helps a story that wavers from slightly sluggish to extremely interesting. Before the totality of the plot clicks into place, the dour tone weighs heavily on the pacing, but once you see the lengths that Sweeney’s Dennis goes to fill voids in his life, you’re locked into how his desperation counterbalances O’Brien’s depression. While the rest of the film still ebbs and flows, the parallel unfolding of the leads’ respective traumas is relatable enough to keep this movie going.
QUENTIN
At its core, Twinless is a standard bromantic comedy. Sure, writer-director (and co-lead) James Sweeney adds his own nuanced flavor and brand of melodrama, but the tropes are all the same. That’s not to say it’s bad, as it easily coasts on the heartfelt chemistry between Sweeney and Dylan O’Brien, the latter of whom gives a tremendous dual performance as the confidently charismatic Rocky and emotionally vulnerable Roman. Still, window dressing aside, from Wedding Crashers to You’ve Got Mail, you’ve seen the basic bones of this story structure before, which keeps it from becoming something special even though it’s a pretty decent movie in its own right.
