We’ve all seen it before: those couples who spend all their time together as though they’re glued at the hip. The ones that never show up to social gatherings, that start to look and dress the same, or that must ‘check in’ with the other before agreeing to anything. Or perhaps we’ve even experienced it in our own relationships. Where we feel like we’re slowly losing ourselves and living instead through the other, sacrificing our own dreams and identities to be absolutely everything we can be for someone else. We find ourselves waking up one day and thinking, is this what I want? Am I happy?
Whatever they may be, it’s our lived experiences that ultimately shape how we perceive the stifling relationship between Tim (Dave Franco) and Millie (Alison Brie) in Michael Shanks’ body horror debut, “Together.” This is a film that heavily relies on viewers’ judgment and understanding of the relationship played out on-screen. And for those with any experience of the above, it will undoubtedly strike a chord. The film depicts an intense, uncomfortable, albeit fun journey of a couple learning what it means to truly be ‘together.’
Relationship Issues Explored Visually
The film opens with police searching for a couple who have gone missing in the woods. It then shifts to two dogs standing in an underground cave. They’re fixated by its murky depths before both turn to take a sip from the cave’s pool of water. Later that night, the dog’s owner awakens to a loud commotion in their pen and goes to check it out. As he lifts his torch—and we’ve likely already guessed by this point that what he’s about to see ain’t gonna be pretty—the camera slowly turns with it; we see one of the dogs brutally feasting on the other. Nice.
Flash forward to the current day. We meet Tim and Millie at a leaving party before moving out of the city for Millie’s new job. It’s evident from this first meeting that the film is steering us to view the relationship in a particular light. The cracks are already clearly visible. Mocked by his friends for leaving the band and his life behind for Millie, one of Tim’s bandmates claims, ‘when I die, I don’t want someone else’s life flashing before my eyes’—a comment that clearly stings. The night gets progressively worse as, during their farewell speech, Millie gets down on one knee in front of all their friends to propose. Poor Tim pauses for far too long, looking both horrified and lost, his acceptance coming far too late.
Later, finding the couple in bed, we realise there are also issues in the bedroom that only heighten Tim’s sense of inadequacy. Millie questions whether they really love each other or too familiar to one another. She remarks that it will be much easier to split now rather than later (note the tongue-in-cheek reference). The first horror elements also come into play when Tim later has a nightmare, seeing his dead parents watching him from the foot of the bed.
On Coupling and Co-dependency
The horrors continue as they move into their new house, where Tim discovers a group of rats fused together in the ceiling. It’s a clever nod to his past and also a prediction of what’s to come. When the pair go out hiking, they are caught in a heavy storm and—owing to Tim’s inability to navigate—quickly become lost. They fall into a hole that turns out to be the creepy cave shown to us at the film’s beginning. Trapped, with no phone signal and no water, they sit around a fire, which, after mocking him for his lack of fire-making skills, Millie makes. The couple shares a heartfelt—albeit slightly disturbing—moment, where Tim shares the story of how he found his mother in bed, having gone mad after lying next to Tim’s father, dead in bed next to her. Whilst Millie refuses to drink from the cave water—can’t say I blame her—Tim takes a sip. It’s here that we realise the relevance of the dog scene at the beginning. The couple wake the next morning, finding themselves glued together at the legs by an odd, sticky substance that they both believe is mildew.
From here, Tim’s mental health starts to decline, and with it, his dependency on Millie grows. Struggling to be physically apart from her, he becomes heavily anxious and distressed. His behaviour is erratic and obsessive. His attempt to get away and go on tour fails. Instead, he ditches his guitar at the train station and heads to Millie’s work. Here they get frisky in the toilet and—in a scene that still makes me cringe inwardly—end up physically stuck together. Later, after an argument, Millie seeks solace from Tim’s neighbor, Jamie (Damon Herriman). However, she breaks away when she sees Tim lurking in the bushes outside, watching in true Michael Myers style. However, later that night—in a bizarre turn of events—Millie is drawn to Tim in much the same way. As a result, they become physically fused at the arms.
Humorous Elements Lightening the Mood
Both now wondering what on earth is happening, Tim links it back to the cave. Meanwhile, Millie goes back to see Jamie, who, we learn, has become ‘one’ with his partner through a bizarre marriage ritual. He tells Millie that she and Tim must accept their fate, embrace it, and come together as he has. Tim, meanwhile, is having his own grim experience as he discovers the fate of the missing couple in the cave. (*Spoilers*) When the two reunite, in an act of self-sacrifice, Tim threatens suicide, only to realise Millie is dying from a cut inflicted by Jamie. Tim takes Millie into the house, where—after ironically putting on Spice Girls‘ “2 Become 1″—the two give in and allow their bodies to come together. When Millie’s parents come by for dinner, we see the combined Millie and Tim (Mim? Tillie?) answer the door.
Whilst I wouldn’t class “Together” as a black comedy, there are certainly some cleveror comedic moments. It also includes morbid moments and references that work well, often because we can imagine ourselves in the position and feel their pain. For example, the bathroom scene could belong in a teen rom-com. It’s a hyper-realistic version of the worst things that can happen when you decide to get it on in the workplace. Or the aftermath of the ‘arm scene’ (no spoilers), where both sit together, bloody on the kitchen floor, eating. Because, really, what else would you do at that moment? I like how the film is filled with humorous hints, foreshadowing what’s to come in a way that teases viewers. This is contrasted with big, tongue-in-cheek moments that make you laugh in that awkward should I really be laughing at this? way. It all works to lighten the load. It reminds us not to take it all too seriously, as this isn’t a film that takes itself too seriously.
Significant Themes and Tropes Worth Exploring
All jokes aside, there are also some significant themes and underlying tropes at play that are certainly worth exploring. The manipulation of gender and portrayal of mental health particularly warrants attention. Traditionally, horror films feature women as the hysterical, overly emotional, or anxious protagonists. They are often the first to experience the ‘horror’—whatever that may be—while their partner doubts or ridicules them. However, what struck me with “Together” is how the roles are reversed. Here it’s Tim’s trauma and anxieties that are exposed and reflected in his surroundings and experiences. In many ways, the entire plot could be read as a metaphor for Tim’s inner struggles: deeply traumatized by his parents’ death, he fears commitment. Lacking self-esteem and self-worth, he becomes heavily dependent on Millie. Franco’s portrayal here is what makes this film. How he presents Tim’s pain and confusion and his continual feelings of inadequacy and emasculation, feels raw and genuine. In my opinion, it’s something we don’t see enough of in cinema… and certainly not in horror.
It took me a while to figure out the overall ‘message’ of “Together,” and I’m still undecided. Their coming together at the end can in some ways be seen as the ultimate couple’s sacrifice. Having finally stopped fighting, they learn that to truly be together—as the Spice Girls sing—”two [must]become one.” You could even read the end as a nod to trans rights, that both ‘he’ and ‘she’ physically coming together symbolises a breaking away from gendered barriers. That the true ‘them’ is the person who opens the door at the end, as both Millie and Tim. Regardless, I found the film tantalisingly fun and at times, downright uncomfortable. Granted, the ending felt a little rushed and was perhaps too neatly tied up for me. But the exceptional performances from Franco and Brie make it all worth watching.
