Dylan O'Brien's Latest Movie Really Blew Me Away, And I Think It's Time We Give Him His Flowers

Call me a movie journalist or whatevs, but this year I’ve been giving myself the goal to try and watch at least one 2025 movie releases each week. And, in this time between the summer and fall, I have to admit, there’s not as much to pick from. I had an afternoon to myself, though, and after a bit of thought I decided to check out Dylan O’Brien’s new movie, Twinless. It has rave reviews, and I was not disappointed. Watching the movie made me think more deeply about its leading man.

Dylan O’Brien Is Amazing In His Latest Movie, Twinless

Twinless is one of those movies that’s best to go into as blind as possible, but I’ll give you the basics. Dylan O’Brien plays a man named Roman who has just lost his identical twin brother, Rocky, due to a car accident, and is trying to navigate his grief. Somehow, he finds a support group especially for people in his exact situation where he meets Dennis. Played by James Sweeney, who also wrote and directed the movie, Dennis and Roman suddenly become inseparable. They do everything from buy groceries together to go on road trips to see hockey games. But, Dennis is hiding a rather shocking secret from Roman.

I won’t tell you what that is, but I know I’m going to be thinking about O’Brien’s powerful performance as Roman for a long time. There’s one scene in particular where he gets drunk with Dennis and they do an exercise where Dennis pretends to be Rocky, and he gets out all the things he wishes he could say to his late brother if he were still alive. As we watch the movie, you see, we learn that while the twins were inseparable when they were younger, as Rocky came to accept his gay identity, the brothers grew apart, and Roman’s slow acceptance of Rocky drove a big gaping wedge in their relationship.

And, It Has Me Thinking About His Broader Career (So Far)

This is one of those sweet indie gems of the year that I’m definitely going to be recommending for years to come, because it’s as funny as it is dark and genuine. I came out of the movies really happy with how I spent my afternoon, and I think part of that has to do with the trust I’ve come to have in O’Brien’s career.

I first saw him in his first role in Teen Wolf, which is honestly just an OK show now that I look back, but the reason I think I kept tuning in for so long was because of how good O’Brien was in his role. Sure, that translated into the Maze Runner movies, but in recent years whenever I’ve taken a chance on an O’Brien project I’ve had a similar feeling, despite his movies often not being the belle of the ball.

I’m thinking of Love And Monsters, Not Okay, the vastly under-talked about LGBTQ+ movie Ponyboi, his impression of Dan Aykroyd in the Saturday Night cast or the time travel twists in Caddo Lake. Then, there’s the fact that Taylor Swift directed him in the All Too Well music video, and he helped bring so much more depth to the song.

Can more people just give him his flowers already? I think it’s time O’Brien starts getting talked about alongside his peers as the incredible talent he is. For one, I’d love to see Twinless in the Oscar conversation, and to see him get even more roles that reflect the incredible actor he has been and continues to become. Anyway, go see Twinless in theaters!