Nineties kids were raised on twin propaganda. “Full House” and “It Takes Two” darlings Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen ruled young Hollywood. “Sister, Sister” stars Tia and Tamera Mowry led enviable lives on television. Lindsay Lohan doubled in cool factor when duplicated on-screen in “The Parent Trap.” All of those actresses played twins separated at birth who encounter each other later in life, completely by accident. The lesson for viewers: If you didn’t already have a look-alike, maybe you just hadn’t found them yet.
Growing up in Alaska, “I built this fantasy of meeting my long-lost twin,” said 35-year-old indie filmmaker James Sweeney. “I think it sort of encapsulated this idea of a perfect best friend — somebody who wants to do all the things you want to do. And, you can share clothes.”
Eventually, it became clear the dream was never going to come true. So Sweeney did what so many artists have done before him: He channeled his fantasy into a movie. Sort of. In “Twinless,” which opened Friday, the writer-director plays Dennis, an awkward Portlander who pretends to have lost a twin so he can bond at a twin bereavement group with Roman (Dylan O’Brien), whose identical brother — Rocky, also played by O’Brien — recently died. What Roman doesn’t know is that Dennis not only knew Rocky before his sudden death, he played a pivotal role in the tragedy.
Flashbacks reveal that Dennis got hung up on Rocky after a one-night stand, adding a layer of creepiness to him approaching Roman at the group. There isn’t any question of romance with this twin — as Roman is so straight that he asks whether there is such a thing as a “gay gene” — but Dennis is still relentless in his pursuit of friendship. His desperate, often delusional behavior turns “Twinless” into a darkly comedic meditation on the effects of profound loneliness.
“I definitely would never have responded so excitedly to the concept of playing twins on its own,” O’Brien said over Zoom in mid-August, seated next to Sweeney. He was drawn to the opportunity to play these twins in particular: Rocky, an incorrigible flirt who can brighten any mood, and Roman, a dim but endearing brute grieving the brother he believed to be the “better” twin. “I just thought the entire ride was something that, if executed right, could be really special,” O’Brien added.
O’Brien says he felt the dual role as identical twins could be special. (Ava Pellor/For The Washington Post) –
“I’ve always been interested in the psychology of twin identity,” Sweeney says. (Ava Pellor/For The Washington Post) –
Working on the film allowed O’Brien and Sweeney, neither of whom has a twin, to imagine how losing one could impact a person’s sense of self. “I’ve always been interested in the psychology of twin identity,” said Sweeney, who pored over related studies in college and even dated a twin in adulthood. “I thought it was a really interesting way to explore the concept of identity. Twin loss … struck me as a uniquely profound kind of grief, in part because it is a splitting of oneself.”
“Twinless” premiered to positive reviews at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, with critics singling out Sweeney’s “sophisticated sense of framing, pace and exquisitely uncomfortable dramatic tension,” per Variety’s Peter Debruge. Ahead of the film’s theatrical release, Ty Burr wrote in a three-star review for The Washington Post that Sweeney has “mastered a tone of intelligently amusing hopelessness.” The original draft was written entirely from Dennis’s point of view, Sweeney said, explaining that he switched to Dennis and Roman as dual protagonists after doing something similar with his first feature, the 2019 indie comedy “Straight Up.”
Introducing the budding friendship from Roman’s perspective helped develop “an understanding of why these two people are drawn to each other,” Sweeney said. He needed to ground the story in something real and relatable — Roman’s immense grief — before turning it on its head.
Critics also praised O’Brien’s two-pronged performance, describing it as some of the most ambitious work undertaken by the former teen heartthrob (who made a name for himself on TV with “Teen Wolf” and in film with the “Maze Runner” franchise) in his recent forays into indie film. He physically transforms for each role in “Twinless,” carrying himself with a delightfully cheeky swagger as Rocky and broadcasting inner turmoil through Roman’s hunched shoulders and lumbering gait.
“For me, it was as much of a thing energetically as it was aesthetically,” O’Brien said. “I wanted to genuinely be able to focus on the spirits and energies of each of these characters [and] take advantage of what I could change physically — facial hair, hair, all the things.”
The 27-day shoot, which took place in early 2024, was divided into two parts: O’Brien played Rocky before a brief break, and returned as Roman. He worked with Sweeney to carefully hone each of his portrayals. Rocky, who could have become a two-dimensional figure in lesser hands, possesses enough thorns to avoid caricature. (O’Brien is straight in real life, while Sweeney is gay.) O’Brien chose to use a different voice for Roman, speaking from the back of his throat, and Sweeney made sure that remained distinct. “You sound a little Dylan on that one,” he would flag.
Critic’s have praised O’Brien’s performance as well as Sweeney’s direction. (Ava Pellor/For The Washington Post) –
Though Sweeney only plays one character in the movie, he toggled between two modes as a director. “The more I can have my visual choices be emblematic of what I’m trying to convey narratively, the easier it is for me to make those choices,” he said. He shot the first act on 35-millimeter film and switched to digital when the character perspective changes to “explore this theme of authenticity versus artifice.” Similarly, the film starts out using dolly shots — or tracking shots accomplished by mounting the camera to a wheeled platform — and switches to camera zooms later.
“Twinless” evolved into something quite different than Sweeney’s childhood fantasy of encountering a long-lost twin, but the emotional undercurrents are similar: Dennis still finds someone who makes him feel less alone — it just happens to be someone else’s twin. The filmmaker recalled a scene in which the characters are playing two truths and a lie, and Dennis noted that the trick to playing the game well is to say something that is factually untrue but spiritually honest.
“I think that’s kind of how I feel about this film as a representation of my life,” Sweeney said. “It’s emotionally truthful, but it’s in no way how I act. For the record.”
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