In the refreshingly original dramedy Twinless, Roman (Dylan O’Brien) has been rocked by the sudden death of his twin brother Rocky. Roman and Rocky were inseparable in their Moscow Idaho, childhood, but the more adventuresome and cosmopolitan Rocky had been building his own life in Portland. Roman, admittedly not the sharpest knife in the drawer, and burdened with anger management issues, has been stuck in a dead end rut back home with their bitter mother (Lauren Graham). After the funeral, Roman, at loose ends, is sticking around Portland and finds a support group for people who are grieving the loss of their twin siblings.
Roman meets another support group participant, Dennis (James Sweeney), who has very little in common with Rocky, but, like Roman is gay, worldly and quick-witted. What Roman and Dennis share is their grief and loss of connection, and they build a most unlikely friendship. It seems like we’re in for an amiable Odd Couple comedy until something in their back stories is revealed to the audience, but not to both of them. Will the new friends be able to face and overcome this history? The drama is leavened by comedy as Twinless explores grief, loss and identity.
Dennis is played by James Sweeney, Twinless’s writer director. Sweeney has written a character of remarkable ambiguity and vulnerability for himself. Sometimes a person remains sympathetic, even though they have a loathsome character flaw and have done something very wrong. It’s really hard to write (and play) a movie character like that, and that is Sweeney’s triumphant achievement in Twinless.
Dylan O’Brien is well known for the Teen Wolf (as Stiles) and The Maze Runner franchises, with which I am unfamiliar. I’m generally impressed by actors who can convincingly play characters much dumber than they are in real life, and O’Brien is very good as a dopey innocent who we can laugh at but still root for.
Aisling Franciosi plays Marcie, a sunny goodhearted ditz who turns out to be far more formidable than either Dennis or Roman expect. Twelve years ago, in The Fall, I first saw Franciosi’s compelling performance as Katie Benedetto, a troubled Northern Irish teen who is infatuated by a serial killer (Jamie Dornan). Gotta say this – if she can play both Katie Benedetto and Marcie to perfection, she can play any character.
Reflecting both the sweetness and edginess we find in life, Twinless is one of the smartest and most satisfying comedies of recent years.