The genre “dark romantic comedy” usually piques my interest, and while the packaging of Jenée LaMarque’s film The Pretty One seems colorful and elementary, its thematic tone is anything but; dealing with identity struggle, death, and coming of age, The Pretty One is a comical, yet emotional journey about a wallflower’s struggle with breaking out of her shell, even if the shell isn’t really hers.

Audrey (Zoe Kazan) and Laurel (again, Zoe Kazan) are identical twin sisters with personality differences. Audrey is into the glamorous lifestyle- she’s the type of girl you would see walking down the fashionable streets of West Hollywood. Her sister, Laurel, isn’t necessarily “anti” glamor, but her naive demeanor makes her more socially awkward, with no effort put into her appearance. Differences aside, they get along great, wearing BFF heart necklaces with the other’s name that, when combined, form a perfect heart as a symbol of their unity. However, the broken half-heart is an obvious foreshadowing of literal heartbreak as LaMarque leads into the next scene.

Kazan’s range is on display playing both girls, and her performances are equally convincing and charming.

As a gesture for their shared birthday, Audrey decides to treat Laurel to a makeover day, their first stop being the hairdresser. Laurel decides to mimic her sister’s style and takes a good 10 inches off of her hair, leaving the two looking like their own reflections. Their special moment doesn’t last long; after an unforeseen tragedy strikes, Laurel wakes in a hospital room to Dr. Rao (Danny Pudi) and her father (John Carroll Lynch), crying. “Where’s my sister?” Laurel asks in a daze. “Laurel’s dead,” they say. First it’s confusion, but then it hits her; everyone thinks she’s Audrey, meaning they think “Laurel” is dead. It’s at this realization when Laurel is at a crossroads; tell everyone they are wrong and that Audrey is the one who died, or live life as her sister, which means new friends, a new life, a fresh start.

Zoe Kazan brings her years of theatrical acting to this film, engagingly portraying the twins a la Lindsay Lohan in The Parent Trap or more recently, Armie Hammer as the “Winklevii” twins in The Social Network. Kazan’s range is on display playing both girls, and her performances are equally convincing and charming. It doesn’t hurt that she shares the screen with “New Girl’s” charming Jake Johnson, who plays Audrey’s neighbor and tenant Basel. While Audrey was rude and wrote off the funny-man, Laurel gives him a chance and romantic sparks fly. Co-starring as Audrey’s secret on again, off again, boyfriend is the comedic Ron Livingston, whose screen time is short but impactful.