(L to R) Alison Brie and Dave Franco in ‘Together’. Photo: Neon.
‘Together’ receives 8.5 out of 10 stars.
Opening in theaters July 30 is ‘Together,’ written and directed by Michael Shanks and starring Dave Franco, Alison Brie, Damon Herriman, and Mia Morrissey.
Related Article: Alison Brie and Dave Franco Talk Director Michael Shanks’ ‘Together’
Initial Thoughts
(L to R) Alison Brie and Dave Franco in ‘Together’. Photo: Neon.
Real-life couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie star in ‘Together,’ the feature debut of writer-director Michael Shanks. A body horror thriller not too far removed from the early works of David Cronenberg – although the latter would take a more clinical approach – ‘Together’ touches on a number of ideas involving identity, relationships, and marriage, all filtered through a decidedly Lovecraftian supernatural premise.
And it all works quite well, thanks to Shanks’ smart script and confident direction, as well as the unbeatable chemistry that Brie and Franco have together. Their natural closeness with each other makes ‘Together’ poignant and believable even at its most grotesque moments – and there are quite a few of those.
Story and Direction
(L to R) Director Michael Shanks, Dave Franco and Alison Brie on the set of ‘Together’. Photo: Neon.
Millie (Alison Brie) accepts a teaching job in the country, meaning that she and longtime partner Tim (Dave Franco), an aspiring yet largely unsuccessful musician, must abandon their friends and city digs for a more bucolic lifestyle. Tim is reluctant to leave, which only adds to the strain on their already fraying and recently sexless relationship, and there are signs that both are not entirely committed to seeing this through together.
While hiking in the woods near their new home, the couple get lost in the rain and fall into a cave that contains the ruins of a chapel. After drinking water from a pool in the cave – and getting their legs stuck together by a strange substance – they return home only for Tim to find himself mysteriously and powerfully drawn to Millie physically. At one point, they have frantic, vigorous sex in a bathroom at her school, although the outcome is a lot more painful than expected.
It inevitably becomes clear that whatever the couple drank in that cave is causing them to physically merge with each other, a fate which might have befallen a couple that went missing there several weeks earlier. And despite their best – and most gruesome efforts – the two realize that there is almost nothing they can do to keep the process from happening.
(L to R) Dave Franco and Alison Brie in ‘Together’. Photo: Neon.
‘Together’ doesn’t hide its intent, and it’s the sheer horror of what’s occurring – leavened with a little black humor – that keeps the movie from being heavy-handed. But this is very much a film about what happens when one’s identity and life become so entwined with that of another person that it’s difficult to know where one ends and the other begins – in this case, literally. The way that co-dependent couples can burrow under each other’s skins or tear each other apart manifests in unsettlingly real terms.
For the most part, Shanks juggles it all exceptionally well, with the tone wavering only a bit in the third act as the prosthetics take over and a few broader laughs puncture the otherwise eerie atmosphere. The natural setting and ruined church all hint at forces beyond our understanding – as if love and identity themselves weren’t often difficult enough to comprehend.
Cast and Performances
(L to R) Dave Franco and Alison Brie in ‘Together’. Photo: Neon.
This is essentially a two-hander, and the leads leave it all out on the playing field. Even if you don’t know going in that Franco and Brie are married in real life, there’s a specific intimacy to their interactions that makes their distress – both before and after the cave – all the more acute.
Whatever real baggage they bring to the film is their business, but the characters feel genuine: Tim is unable to face getting older and leaving his adolescent rock star dreams behind, while Millie increasingly feels like she’s carrying the entire relationship om her shoulders and not being seen. The texture of their performances gives ‘Together’ that extra emotional oomph.
Final Thoughts
(L to R) Alison Brie and Dave Franco in ‘Together’. Photo: Neon.
‘Together’ works as both a relationship drama and a crowd-pleasing horror rave-up; there are scenes in the film that should get a packed house gasping and hollering. But there’s a lot going on under the surface as well, and the movie merges – so to speak — its themes and its visceral effects together almost seamlessly before concluding on a perfectly ambiguous note.
“Join us.”
With a move to the countryside already testing the limits of a couple’s relationship, a supernatural encounter begins an extreme transformation of their love, their… Read the Plot
What is the plot of ‘Together’?
Years into their relationship, Tim and Millie (Dave Franco and Alison Brie) find themselves at a crossroads as they move to the country, abandoning all that is familiar in their lives except each other. With tensions already flaring, a nightmarish encounter with a mysterious, unnatural force threatens to corrupt their lives, their love, and their flesh.
Who is in the cast of ‘Together’?
(L to R) Alison Brie and Dave Franco in ‘Together’. Photo: Neon.
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