James Sweeney is a young filmmaker from Alaska. This film is his second feature as director. His debut was Straight Up (2020) in which Sweeney also stars as a man who is afraid of being alone but finds that he is in fact lonely. Despite his character being gay, he has a romance with a straight woman who is also struggling socially. The film becomes about their relationship, despite how awkward or mismatched they are, as well as how their bond might not be sexual, but it's some kind of emotional or psychological bond. It's a modern-day queer relationship in which the configuration isn't same-sex but it's still queer, which is very progressive but visually it's still about an opposite-sex couple, which does conform to hetero-normative optics, even though it has queer undertones and even same-sex moments.
This film is not that far off in that Sweeney is the writer, director and main actor in it. Sweeney plays Dennis, a young queer, office worker living in Portland, Oregon. It seems as if he grew up in that city, but he has a fear of being alone but finds that he is in fact lonely. Unfortunately, the film has no interest in exploring why that might be the case. It could be a self-esteem or anxiety issue, which the film hints, but there's not much delving into Dennis' loneliness. He doesn't seem to have much of a social circle or friend group and there's no explanation as to why.
Dylan O'Brien (Saturday Night and The Maze Runner) co-stars as Roman, a young man from Moscow, Idaho. He comes to stay in Portland due to the fact that his twin brother died. He was estranged from his twin, but, after his he dies, Roman basically starts to assume the life of his twin. He takes over his dead twin's apartment and he even takes over his dead twin's job. He doesn't assume the identity of his brother totally. There are moments when people in Portland who never knew about the twin relationship mistake Roman for his brother. Roman plays along sometimes, but he couldn't assume his brother's identity fully, mainly due to the fact that Roman is straight and his twin, named Rocky, was gay. Roman is not pretending to be gay. He's not going that far. Rocky also spoke Japanese and was very intellectual. Roman can do and is none of those things. Rocky was also more effeminate and flamboyant. Roman is more masculine and muted, and he's not changing or pretending to be any of those things. It doesn't seem like Roman would have the ability to pretend to be his twin, even if he wanted. That distinction makes O'Brien's performance well executed.
Sweeney's narrative provides a great vehicle or platform for O'Brien to show his range and appeal as an actor. He plays both Roman and Rocky. The thrust of the film though is Roman's relationship with Dennis, as the two meet in a support group for people who have had their twins die. The film is good about providing insight into how that kind of grief can affect a person, specifically siblings with that type of bond. However, the film becomes more about Dennis' obsession with Roman, latching onto him in what is revealed to be unhealthy or even manipulative ways.
As with Straight Up, it becomes about a queer person in an awkward relationship with a straight person. As with Sweeney's debut, it's not clear as to what Sweeney's character really thought would happen in the end. At one point, Dennis says he likes the person he is when he's with Roman. The follow-up question, which is never asked or answered, is what is that so-called person? It's pointed out that Roman is not the smartest man. He's not the "sharpest bulb" as Roman mistakenly references. Is that the person that Dennis like being? Does he like being with someone with whom he's smarter? Roman takes Dennis to hockey games. It doesn't seem like Dennis enjoys sports whatsoever, let alone hockey. Is that the person Dennis likes being? Does he like going to sporting events in which he has no interest and is probably bored?
It seems as if Dennis and Roman don't really have anything in common. However, there are plenty of stories where a person will dumb themselves down or pretend to be interested in things that they're not because that person is simply trying to impress or identify with someone with whom they're trying to have sex. It's clear that Dennis is sexually attracted to Roman. Dennis' actions only make sense if his goal is to have sex with Roman eventually, but it's obvious that Roman is very heterosexual. Roman even starts dating a woman who works at Dennis' office. Roman starts dating Marcie, played by Aisling Franciosi (Speak No Evil and The Nightingale).
Dennis' behavior toward Marcie feels like how one would behave toward the new lover of your ex. Dennis' behavior becomes very jealous, which demonstrates Dennis' feelings going beyond platonic. Dennis becomes a literal third wheel and very passive aggressive toward Marcie. Dennis would not behave that way if he didn't want to have sex with Roman, which he knows is impossible. Therefore, this film simply becomes a gay guy lusting after a straight guy, which is a problematic trope in narratives both inside and outside Hollywood. This film adds a wrinkle that Roman's dead twin was gay, but it doesn't take away the gay guy lusting but also basically stalking a straight guy, which is problematic. It would be different if the tone of this film were that of a thriller, but that's not the tone here.
Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert!
It's revealed that Dennis has been lying to Roman. Dennis pretends to understand what Roman is experiencing when he doesn't. Those lies might have helped Roman to get over the loss of his brother or handle the grief by making Dennis a surrogate brother. Yet, it's gross because Dennis wants to have sex with Roman, but Roman in the end suffers from Stockholm Syndrome, a condition where a person starts to sympathize or develop positive feelings for their kidnapper. Dennis doesn't literally kidnap Roman, but Dennis basically holds Roman hostage emotionally and psychologically, which makes Dennis' actions not as disgusting and disturbing but sloping in that direction.
Once we realize that Dennis is lying, the film starts to become frustrating as to when the lie will be exposed and how will the expected response play out. In that regard, the more interesting portion becomes the aftermath or the analysis of the situation in the wake of the lie being exposed. This film does have a few scenes of the aftermath but the true analysis doesn't really happen. There is no true reckoning of Dennis or his life, which explains or really helps understand why he did what he did in this film.
Rated R for sexual content, nudity and language.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 40 mins.
In theaters.