Together

Roger Ebert used to talk about "clangs," which are improbable moments in a movie that jar the viewer from their suspension of disbelief and remind them that what they're watching is a lie. Clangs are subjective, and for me, a clang is only really jarring if it undermines some important aspect of the film. TOGETHER is an allegorical body horror film about relationship codependency that shows a lot of promise but unfortunately fails to truly deliver because of just how many clangs occur throughout some parts where it counts.

I'll list some of these clangs.

Tim and Millie are a couple in their late 30s who have what appears to be a pretty good life living in the city (Seattle perhaps?). Their life is so socially rich that they can throw a party for a large number of their close friends to toast their own going away with heartfelt speeches. They don't appear to want for money. There appear to be zero "push" factors that are forcing them to leave the city for some place new.

Instead, there's just a single pull factor: Millie has accepted a job as a ninth grade English teacher in rural Washington State. We can assume that this would be a pay cut, if only because she would have probably accrued 15 to 20 years of salary and benefit increases working as a teacher in the city. Her sole reason for ditching one job--and closeness to a huge network of friends, her family, her boyfriend's livelihood and everything he cares about, etc.--is because something about the job posting has suggested to her that the kids in this town will be "passionate" about learning whereas that hasn't been possible elsewhere. Right.

Is it impossible that someone would make such a decision? No, of course not. But the movie gives us all sorts of reasons for why this move will be costly, gives us almost nothing to suggest that the move is really worthwhile, and doesn't even interrogate that tension. What could have been a very quick fix in a small revision to the screenplay--perhaps she's an adjunct professor who's been offered a tenure-track position at a small university town in the middle of nowhere, which would have obvious large advantages for her--is instead left as a nagging clang of a poorly written detail.

Next, there's Tim's aspiration to be a professional musician. At one point in the movie, Millie and her best friend insult him for being a 35-year-old man who still dreams of being a rock star. This is presented as a sad little fact of his existence, but this fact is in direct contradiction to some of the exposition presented at the beginning of the film: he was recently signed to a record label, and Millie's brother is indeed a rising rock star who is signed to a label, going on a national tour, and offering to employ Tim as a musician. It's one thing if Tim has nothing whatsoever to show for his ambitious rock star dream. But Millie's attitude seems to suggest that she has forgotten altogether that her own little brother is indeed a rising rock star. Tim's very real chance of success as a professional working musician is completely dismissed by a high school English teacher who's just quit her own job to fulfill the dream of there being "passionate students" elsewhere.

I was going to keep going--like how even the timeline when she starts her new teaching job (late into the school year?) doesn't make much sense--but I'll actually stop here.

You may say that these are minor problems. After all, I already suggested a quick edit that would fix the problem necessitating their move. Some other quick fixes--like cutting out the brother character--could fix that other problem, too. But for me those little clangs matter because this isn't just a supernatural thriller about weird things in the water. Rather, this is presented as being a meaningful story about a relationship, and specifically a relationship in which two people are making decisions and sacrifices in order to share a life together. If this were just a story about weird things in the water, then the plot contrivances that get them to drink that water don't really matter. But from beginning to end, this film presents itself as a story in which the weird water is actually secondary and that what is primary is their recognizable reality as a high school teacher and an aspiring musician who've been in a stale, sexless relationship for ten years. And so it's important that we believe that reality. And it's not good when basic facts about their material existence come across as poorly thought out plot holes.

So this movie fails at fully delivering on the allegorical aspects because the reality it's meaningfully commenting on doesn't seem to have much foothold in reality.

That said, there is a lot that's enjoyable in this film. The body horror is effectively grotesque, there's a good amount of humor, and the lore that sustains the premise--while a little silly--is pretty clever. When Franco and Brie are in the thick of it, particularly in the second half of the movie, it becomes a lot easier to forget about the weaknesses of the screenplay and instead appreciate the chemistry brought by their real-life off-screen marriage.

Overall, I think writer-director Michael Shanks has a good bit of talent and has made a memorable movie. I just wish he'd given the screenplay another pass before committing it to film.

I enjoyed it. It was a unique wtf horror/romance with some moments of humour. I thought Dave and Alison played their parts very well and as a real life couple it helped with their on screen chemistry. I hope they continue to do horror together because it worked. The story is pretty much spoiled in all the trailers but the ending caught me off a bit and the final scene before credits was a bit laughable and silly but overall I enjoyed the film and was glued to it til the end.

I'll be honest when I say that the trailers never properly sold me on this movie, it made it seem like a completely different movie than what we got.

The concept is really unique. While there's been some chatter online about possible plagiarism, that's not my place to weigh in on. What I can say is that this film stands on its own with a bold and bizarre approach. The effects are striking, and some moments hit a level of fear and discomfort that really stays with you. It does an excellent job portraying anxiety and the disorienting terror of dreams that blur into reality.

Dave Franco delivers what might be his best performance to date, giving the character a desperate vulnerability that anchors the whole thing. Alison Brie complements him perfectly, and their chemistry helps ground the madness with emotional weight and some dark humour.

It's disturbing, oddly beautiful and full of surprises. If you're into surreal horror with emotional undercurrents and a touch of body horror, it's absolutely worth checking out.

"Humans were originally created with four arms, four legs and a head with two faces. Fearing their power, Zeus split them into two separate parts, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves." Plato, The Symposium

Although the current horror film Together doesn't pretend to parse Plato's discourse on love, it relies heavily on the idea that true love is the comingling of minds and bodies that were once separated by Zeus out of envy. Tim (David Franco) and Millie (Alison Brie) spend time in a country house seeking to regain the passion they once had.

After a stroll that ends up in a cave (how very Platonic!), they devolve into maddened humans, literally getting under each other's skin. The visuals, even without excessive CGI, are body horror at its best, and allegorically land us in discussion about what love means and how it affects the struggling relationship the drama began with.

Thematically Together wishes to show how much the stressed couple loves each other, even willing to sacrifice their very flesh to reconcile their affections. No couple in the audience can ignore the commentary on the emotional demands of love, the millennial fear of commitment, and the strains that modern lonely life make on romance.

After all, Millie has sacrificed a higher teaching order to take a rural job while he is still at 35 years old trying to play in an indie-rock band. His intermittent impotency, while understandable given his lack of professional success, still seems like a major impediment to taking their love to the next level.

While treating the aud to some icky body horror, writer-director Michael Shanks comments on the challenges of modern living that needs the therapy of communal sharing, of overcoming horrors together to emerge from that cave together toward the future.

Going into this film completely blind is the play. Absolutely bonkers.

I appreciate an original horror story when it gets executed to perfection. Funny, cringey (in a good way) and downright absurd.

The story is interesting enough and follows cult/folk lore but the performances by Franco and Brie are the high point. Their chemistry is perfect and believable. The film highlights themes of co-dependency and fear of commitment in a truly insane way.

Granted, there are cliched moments that are usually present in the horror genre. And yes, such moments are in this film, but it definitely doesn't take away from the wild ride. This film reminiscences elements from "The Substance" but it warrants its own distinction.

Definitely up there with one of the best horror movies of the year.