Twinless


Twinless is a 2025 American psychological black comedy film written and directed by James Sweeney. The film stars Dylan O'Brien, Sweeney, Aisling Franciosi, Chris Perfetti, François Arnaud, Tasha Smith, and Lauren Graham.
Twinless had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2025, in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, where it won the Audience Award. It was released in the United States by Lionsgate Films and Roadside Attractions on September 5, 2025.

Plot

Dennis, a young gay man living in Portland, Oregon, meets a man named Rocky at a diner. The two hit it off and sleep together. Over the next few days, Rocky ignores Dennis and his attempts to communicate, leading Dennis to visit Rocky's apartment in an attempt to speak with him. Unobserved, he sees Rocky with another man and follows them in his car. He eventually approaches them on the road and confronts Rocky for rejecting him. Rocky is hit by a car and killed.
Rocky's twin brother, Roman, grieves the death of his brother. He joins a support group for twinless twins. He quickly befriends fellow attendee Dennis, who had stalked and followed Roman from Rocky's funeral to the support group. Dennis lies about having had a twin to get close to Roman and the two become close friends. Dennis introduces Roman to his colleague, Marcie; the two grow close, leading Dennis to become jealous. After spending more time together, Marcie begins to notice inconsistencies in Dennis' claims about his family life. When she uncovers the truth, Marcie insists that Dennis disclose his lies to 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 his deception and confesses to everything. An angry Roman punches Dennis repeatedly and leaves. Roman and Dennis become socially isolated after falling out while Roman and Marcie stay together.
Sometime later, Dennis and Roman meet at a diner, where they discuss Rocky and their friendship. In unison, they ask a waitress for a to-go box, an idiosyncrasy once shared by Roman and Rocky.

Cast

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

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 was released on September 5, 2025.
When the film was made available to festival viewers who opted to view the film remotely online during Sundance, clips and GIFs from the film showing O'Brien's character having sex were leaked online and shared across social media platforms. The clips were later taken down after copyright infringement claims were filed, and the film itself was later removed from the Sundance online platform.

Reception

Critical response

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 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".

Accolades