Together Review
Together (2025) Film Review, a movie written and directed by Michael Shanks and starring Dave Franco, Alison Brie, Damon Herriman, Mia Morrissey, Karl Richmond, Jack Kenny, Francesca Waters, Aljin Abella, Charlie Lees, MJ Dorning and Flynn Wandin.
Last year, The Substance wowed movie-goers and was one of the most intriguing horror films of the year. A new movie about body merging (and twisting) is director Michael Shanks’ ambitious to a fault Together. This new film starts out strong, but it gets progressively weirder the more it goes on. It had the potential to say a lot about real-life couples in love and how they are physically separated by their life career paths which alters their affections for one another. Though the main characters here discover the only way for them to truly express their love for one another is probably to become one person, the plot doesn’t always feature scenes that feel natural. A lot of Together feels forced for dramatic effect. I guess it should, being that it’s a dramatic horror film. The Substance was a great film, but Together is ultimately a bit average in the end despite the scope of its ambitions.
Dave Franco and Alison Brie star as Tim and Millie. Tim is a free-spirited musical artist of sorts while Millie is the more rational one who works as an educator. They arrive in a small town where Millie has a new job waiting. There, Millie meets Jamie (Damon Herriman), a male colleague who offers some advice and seems sincere. As the film starts with an odd and gruesome scenario involving a pair of dogs, the movie doesn’t seem set to follow up its beginning scene with material that coincides with the opening of the picture. Millie proposes to Tim at a party and he acts like a jerk by stalling on his initial acceptance of her adorable marriage proposal. It’s a huge deal that Tim isn’t worthy of Millie, but the movie suggests they may just love each other enough to deal with Tim’s peculiar commitment issues that derive from personal issues.
There’s a lack of WiFi service for their computer to work, so Tim and Millie have some time on their hands to do things that don’t require WiFi. As the plot continues to unfold, a storm brews when Tim and Millie go for a nature walk and they end up falling into a hole in the ground. It keeps them dry from the rain, but they yearn to get out. There’s water around which seems safe to drink, but it may not be so safe. As the film continues, things seem to improve slightly for Tim and Millie for a second. Then, they get weirder. Really strange, as a matter of fact.
Remember when Demi Moore morphed into Margaret Qualley and vice versa in The Substance? Some things happen in the new film because of the situation that occurred when the pair fell into the hole. Without giving too much away, things spiral out of control, including a scene set in a bathroom that is going to make audiences queasy in a few ways. Private parts are shown in sticky situations and as Tim and Millie try to make their relationship work, challenges keep arising which are sometimes frightening in their excesses. Tim and Millie’s separation when they are apart from one another in their pursuits has uneasy effects on the pair too.
It’s hard to talk about the problems with Together without revealing too much of the plot’s developments. At times, we feel like we’re watching a David Cronenberg film and, others, the picture can seem like a boring made for streaming drama. Shanks deserves accolades for trying to explore the topic of personal identity versus love and caring for another in a romantic way. Though the couple in the film’s romance is challenged by a personal tragedy one of the lead characters faces (among other things), the stars never fully register as two characters worthy of the sometimes really clever script which may have worked better if the leads didn’t play people who seemed so different. It’s hard to believe they’re actually a couple at times which makes the ending all that more strange. While the conclusion leaves more questions than it raises answers, the movie is nevertheless frighteningly thought-provoking.
Franco and Brie are better in their scenes opposite other performers than in their scenes together. Though the other characters are unnecessary, that ability to see how the main characters interact with others when apart from one another is fascinating. Still, the points the movie drives home depends on Franco and Brie acting out their parts accordingly and each brings a lot of dedication to the table in terms of their performances in their respective roles. Brie is always more likable than Franco although their situations that occur make their characters somewhat sympathetic in the grand scheme of things.
While it’s an admirable effort for taking a lot of risks, Together also has a lot of minor problems. Damon Herriman is actually effective in his role, but his character feels a bit like overkill in a movie that needed to have its focus on just the two main characters to fully drive home its compelling points. By bringing other people into the mix, it somewhat defeats the purpose of the screenplay’s last-minute twists and turns (and I mean that literally).
Despite its stylistic and screenplay problems, Together is interesting and should appeal to fans of body swapping and merging films like the award-winning The Substance. It’s the type of date movie that will either make a couple stay together forever or say their goodbyes directly after the film’s conclusion. Neither reaction to the film would surprise me.
Rating: 7/10
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