Together is finally out. After some controversy over the script, it has finally hit theaters. Coming out on July 30 while there are two superhero movies also in theater might allow this one to get a little overlooked by general moviegoing audiences, but that’d be a shame. It’s never quite as gnarly as you expect and never quite as horrifying as you might think, but it’s still a messy, at times disgusting, good time at the theater.
Together Review
Chemistry is really important when two characters are in a relationship on screen. It’s what helped make The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ relationship between Reed Richards and Sue Storm so great in that movie. It’s why Clark Kent and Lois Lane were so good in Superman. Chemistry is a must.
So it’s actually really great that Dave Franco and Alison Brie are a real-life couple, and a longstanding one at that. They’ve probably been in ruts before, so this was probably a pretty easy thing for them to engage with and deliver convincing performances, which are the strength of the movie. There’s really only three major characters in the movie, and if one of them had been lackluster, it could’ve derailed the movie.
They are also incredibly game. Together‘s premise, aside from being terrifying, is absurd and silly. People’s bodies are literally merging into one while they try and figure out what’s gone wrong and how to fix it. There’s a lot of physicality to Millie (Alison Brie) and Tim (Dave Franco) as well, and they’re both fully into it.
It’s a shame, then, that the writing leaves a little to be desired. Not from a plot standpoint, though. Everything works really well on that front, and there is some really good foreshadowing. It’s thematically appropriate, too, and there’s some rich subtext about relationships, falling apart, coming together, and all the pitfalls that lie therein.
It’s just that both Tim and Millie are kind of basic characters. Tim has a tragic backstory that only plays a small role. He is otherwise a self-indulgent, distant partner who seems afraid of commitment until the very end of the movie. There’s just not all that much to him.
Millie is pretty one-dimensional, too. She doesn’t even have the benefit of the traumatic childhood that helps drive the theme forward. She’s just a struggling partner who is beginning to get fed up with this dying relationship that’s slowly swirling down the drain. Where Brie really shines in that, though, is with some excellent line delivery of a few brutal jabs at Tim.
Where the movie begins to fall flat is the ending. For one thing, the undeniable and unstoppable magnetic (literally) attraction seems to come into play only when it’s convenient for the plot and not when it isn’t. There’s a sequence that seems to be where the two characters can no longer keep their bodies apart, but that stops and starts to make a circular joke referencing something at the beginning and so that the two characters can share a nice moment before Together’s climax finally hits and the resolution arrives.
And that resolution is sadly disappointing. Thematically and narratively, it makes sense. It ties back into the themes that Together has been presenting throughout its crisp 1:42 runtime. It kind of makes sense for the characters, too. It just feels a little lazy and disappointing. We learn about this supposedly unstoppable thing that’s caused this to happen (which is true of basically every movie ever), but this time, it’s actually unstoppable and the only way to move forward is to succumb.
That unfortunately sucks a little of the wind out of the message. Millie and Tim have finally learned to reconcile their differences and their lives to be better partners and have a strong, healthy, good relationship, but only right before their lives are irrevocably changed? It’s the one piece of the movie that leaves a little bit of a bad taste, but not in the good way.
However, despite that lackluster ending that I don’t love, it’s still a worthwhile journey. The score and editing do a fantastic job of creating real tension. It feels like something is simmering. Similarly, the “gore” (if such a word can really be used here) and disgust that the trailers seemed to bely is also slowly building to a boiling point. It doesn’t result in an explosive climax that makes you want to close your eyes and walk out of the theater, but it is a satisfying conclusion to the ever-burning and increasing disgust. There’s some really good camerawork, too. On a technical level, Together does shine.
Final Thoughts
An ending can truly make or break a movie. If the ending is bad, it kind of taints the entire movie. Everything meant nothing if the landing was not stuck. Fortunately, while I disagree with how it played out, it’s not a bad ending. It doesn’t take away from what is otherwise a really solid horror flick that doesn’t overstay its welcome and features a really well-done twist that left me quite shocked.
Score: 3.5/5
