REVIEW: TOGETHER

• Director: Michael Shanks
• Writer: Michael Shanks
• Stars: Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Damon Herriman

REVIEW

Grief, mommy issues, arrested development, cults and strange animal deaths are all of the things that seem to be required in modern arthouse horror films. Let’s clarify that: all of these elements are required in films from male filmmakers and Together checks all of the boxes.

Writer/director Michael Shanks snagged Hollywood cuties Alison Brie and Dave Franco for his feature-length debut, and their chemistry may be one of the biggest saving graces of the film. Married in real life, their comfort with one another is what makes the relationship between Millie and Tim feel real and not like a bad episodic tv comedy. Tragically hip, the two are moving from the city life to a small, suburban town for Millie’s job. An elementary school teacher, she has an endless supply of patience, optimism, and an uncanny ability to quickly overlook glaringly obvious flaws and move forward. Not only is this great for successfully engaging with small children, but it is also great for being in a relationship with Tim the Man Child. 

Tim is carrying grief over the loss of his parents. It’s an anchor that is taking him and Millie down. They never really speak about it, mostly because Tim doesn’t want to, they haven’t been intimate in months and what starts out as someone flailing through a traumatic life event turns into Tik Tok moments “hilariously” hi lighting weaponized incompetence, the emotional labour of being with a Mamma’s Boy and women nagging men to just be more than yet another child to take care of. And that’s the problem with Together. The horror aspect is thoughtful and playfully takes jabs at the human obsession with finding our other half. The body horror is squirm inducing, and they do some really cool things with the idea of magnetism and what happens to the “weaker” partner when the alpa leaves. Brie, who has been in so many great shows (Mad Men, Community) and movies (Promising Young Woman) commands the screen with her ability to be charming and humorous, but also strong and no nonsense. Franco (Day Shift) is a horror fan, and you can see his enthusiasm and love of the genre. Nailing every beat of being a band guy who always puts himself first does start to feel a bit like his older brother’s role in This is the End: you begin to wonder if Franco is acting or if he’s just playing an exaggerated version of his real self. Thankfully, Damon Herriman (Justified, The Nightingale) shows up and reminds us of the power of a great character actor. A teacher at Millie’s new school, Jamie, lives just down the road from her and Tim. He’s not only kind, but he tells them about the church that used to be in the woods near their house. It is the same area where a couple recently went missing, and two dogs drank some water that had terrifying side effects. 

The third act of Together tries to pull some gotcha moments, but if you’ve been paying any attention at all, you won’t find them very surprising. Latching onto a myth from Plato’s symposium, Jamie has a very romantic and idealized notion of partnership. Millie longs for this version of marriage as well, but she certainly isn’t going to find it with a man who is more concerned about losing his music demos than his girlfriend’s health status after they both fall into an underground cave. Tim is the worst, even if he is dealing with trauma and grief, and Millie is just as bad because she seems to revel in being victimized by his laziness. Essentially, two likable actors are playing unlikable people and while Shanks sets a great, spooky tone, pulls the camera back at just the right moment and utilizes sound as an ominous character, the overall product seems a bit too impressed with itself and, ultimately, isn’t doing much more than repackaging a dozen recent horror films and putting them into Gen Z Mom Jeans.

Lisa Fremont