Sundance isn’t a film festival known for much controversy. But it found itself the talk of the internet when a scene from one of its films, Twinless, leaked online. And it wasn’t just any scene, but a pivotal gay sex scene starring Dylan O’Brien.
While it was disappointing for a scene from any film to leak online before it’s officially released, the fact that it was this scene is unhinged. That’s because it’s the most bonkers possible scene to take out of context. Context is everything! In fact, the sex scene in Twinless is one of the wildest—and best—scenes of the year.
Twinless is about Roman (O’Brien) and Dennis (James Sweeney, who also wrote and directed the film), two men who meet at a bereavement support group for twins. Having both lost their respective twins, they’ve become desperately lonely and have become fast friends. Dennis is gay, but Roman is straight, though his late twin, Rocky (also O’Brien), was gay, too. In the first 20 minutes of the film, we watch as Dennis and Roman become inseparable.
(Warning: Spoilers ahead.)
Just as the audience grows accustomed to Roman’s perspective, Twinless makes a surprising shift to Dennis’ point of view, from before he met Roman. We see Dennis (James Sweeney) on a date with Rocky, Roman’s twin—a shock, given that Dennis never mentioned he knew Rocky to Roman.
The two have a quick and easy chemistry, and before long, they’re back at Rocky’s place, throwing themselves at each other.
They’re very talkative during their make-out session, saying that since they’re both 5’10”, they could share clothes—“We’re like twins,” Dennis says. As Dennis goes down to kiss Rocky’s stomach, Rocky reveals that he has a twin, which excites him greatly. That’s not surprising, given all we’ve learned about Dennis to this point—like Roman, he lost his twin, so hearing about someone else having a twin would naturally thrill him.
Except Dennis doesn’t say he has a twin, which you’d expect him to immediately tell Rocky. As they kiss and undress each other, Dennis just keeps talking about how much he likes twins. A discomfort begins to settle in: Is Dennis lying about having a twin?
It’s a startling revelation, which Sweeney’s film drops smack dab in the middle of a sex scene. And the scene is, genuinely, super hot. There’s a push and pull between Rocky, who really just wants to have sex, and Dennis, who wants to talk all night long, particularly about twins.
In a quick, steamy succession of shots, Dennis asks Rocky various twin-related questions while having sex in various positions. In one configuration, Dennis asks Rocky if he and his brother ever switched places. In the next, he asks what the longest sentence they said in unison was.
Dennis is so turned on that Rocky’s answer brings him to orgasm. The dialogue is silly, and the physical sex is smoking hot, but there’s a devastating undercurrent to everything happening.
If Dennis doesn’t have a twin, it means that his entire friendship with Roman that we watched blossom in the beginning of the film is fraudulent. Roman confided in and trusted Dennis, who betrayed him by lying about everything. What might even be worse is that Dennis knew Rocky—and had sex with him—something Roman is completely unaware of.
After sex and under the covers, when Dennis and Rocky have a heart-to-heart, it’s clear our suspicions that arose during the sex scene are true: He doesn’t have a twin. It’s a major twist that turns the entire movie on its head, but Sweeney’s direction in this under-the-cover post-coital bliss is so sweet and tender that you find yourself surprisingly sympathetic to Dennis.
It’s clear he’s just a deeply lonely individual longing for a personal connection that eludes him. When basked in the warm glow of empathy, it’s hard to feel particularly judgmental.
Sundance has, in recent years, been pioneering a digital platform allowing for accredited industry members and critics as well as online ticket holders to watch certain festival films from home, instead of in-person in Park City.
Someone recorded the sex scene, as well as other content from the film, from a digital screening, posted it on social media, and soon it spread to countless websites and forums. Its dissemination caused passionate discourse about the value of at-home viewing in a changing industry landscape versus the need to protect creators and their content.
Sundance eventually removed Twinless from the digital platform, citing copyright infringement, making it the second film of the 2025 festival to be taken down, following the documentary Selena y Los Dinos.
Those who watched the leaked scene without seeing Twinless in its entirety spoiled themselves on one of the most surprising and inventive movies of the year.
But even if you have seen the scene out of context, I’d encourage you to see Twinless. Watching it in the movie completely transforms the remarkable experience that’s hot, sweaty, and swooningly romantic, while being deeply uncomfortable and distressing. It’s an incredible balance that Sweeney pulls off, and it makes the scene completely unforgettable.
