With Twinless (2025), director and screenwriter James Sweeney achieves something increasingly rare in contemporary cinema. The film develops a fresh and innovative story; its central idea provides a very distinctive starting point and confronts us with a narrative that moves confidently between drama and dark comedy. Sweeney not only stands out behind the camera but also presents strong credentials in a compelling co-starring role.

Roman (Dylan O’Brien) has just lost his twin brother in an accident. His difficult grieving process leads him to a support group for people who have gone through the same experience, where he meets the enigmatic Dennis (James Sweeney). From this central premise, Twinless begins to weave a story filled with unpredictable twists. As we gradually discover the life of the deceased brother through Roman’s recollections, we also gain deeper insight into Roman’s own life. In an intelligent parallel structure, the screenplay simultaneously develops Dennis’s story.

Twinless flows smoothly, largely thanks to the outstanding performances by Dylan O’Brien and James Sweeney. Another major strength is the film’s ability to find humor within tragedy through sharply controlled dark comedy, while also touching our most sensitive fibers and jolting us with its unexpected turns. The balance between a serious exploration of themes such as grief, loneliness, and the inability to communicate, and its playful engagement with the codes of romantic comedy, stands as one of the screenplay’s greatest achievements.

This independent film proposal is intimate, emotionally intense, and genuinely innovative. Twinless is a compact film that explores the deepest layers of the human soul, takes us to uncomfortable places, makes us laugh, and surprises us with sudden emotional blows. The director guides us through familiar terrain, plays with genre clichés, and bends them to deliver a clever and highly entertaining film.