Roman (Dylan O’Brien) is no longer a twin. The death of his identical brother, Rocky, glimpsed later in brief and ingeniously timed flashbacks, is flagged by a surreal funeral during which mourners mistake Roman for his deceased sibling. Or weep uncontrollably. The dark graveside comedy sets the offbeat tone for this second feature from the writer and director James Sweeney, who’s also one of the stars of Twinless.
Grief has made Roman short-tempered and insecure, and a bust-up with his mother (Lauren Graham) sends him into a twin bereavement group where he meets Dennis (Sweeney), a witty and acid-tongued man who has also lost a twin.
In a perfect movie two-step, the pair seem mismatched: Roman is blunt, emotionally volatile and dumb as a rock; Dennis is quick, self-aware and flamboyant. Against all odds they forge a bond through small rituals – eating sandwiches, grocery shopping, taking a road trip to a hockey game – making moments that allow Roman to revisit twinship, and scenes that the multitasking Sweeney imbues with warmth and wit.
But that’s not the whole story.
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The cunning script manipulates narrative perspective with precision, shifting from Roman’s view to Dennis’s and, finally, to that of Sadie (Aisling Franciosi), Dennis’s sunny colleague. Sweeney makes merry with perspective, using it to subvert and surprise, transforming what initially feels like a jolly, quirky bromance into something far darker. And funnier, too.
[ Aisling Franciosi: ‘I’m doing exactly what I dreamed of doing when I was a kid’Opens in new window ]
The attendant structure is a marvel: split screens juxtapose reactions and carefully calibrated visual gags. Deft scoring by Jung Jae-Il boosts both hilarity and poignancy.
O’Brien delivers a soulful, unpredictable Roman, balancing grief, anger and fleeting tenderness. Rocky’s countering, flirtatious charm makes for the best twinned performance since Michael B Jordan’s brothers in Sinners. Sweeney’s Dennis is simultaneously endearing, caustic and sinister. Franciosi brings understated grace to Sadie, a character who, like the film, is more complex than she first appears.
Grief is seldom this entertaining.
In cinemas from Friday, February 6th
