Together

Movie Name: Together
Year of Release: 2025
Director: Michael Shanks
Starring: Dave Franco, Alison Brie, Damon Herriman, Mia Morrissey, Karl Richmond, Jack Kenny, Francesca Waters, Aljin Abella
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
Watch it on Amazon Prime

Synopsis and Review

"Together" premiered at the Sundance Film Festival of 2025 to solid reviews, and is the feature directorial debut of writer/director Michael Shanks. The film follows the story of Milli Wilson and Tim Brassington. They've been a couple for a few years, and are moving to a more remote locale so Millie can take a job at a school as an English teacher. Tim on the other hand, is an aspiring musician, and just hasn't been able to break through and have the exposure and success he thinks he deserves (he still works as a session player on occasion). Tim has also been through a recent emotional turmoil due to the passing of his parents, something Millie has been supporting him with. Shortly after moving to their new house, Tim and Millie go off to explore the trails near the property, following some landmarks that are located in the woods. They accidentally fall into an underground cave during a rainstorm and end up spending the night. Tim drinks water from a stream inside the cave, which Millie opts not to do. When they wake up the following morning, their legs are stuck together by this sticky membrane, which they attribute to some form of mildew. Tim becomes more and more drawn to Millie, and they consult a doctor who thinks it's panic attacks he's experiencing. He prescribes muscle relaxant pills. The series of awkward events escalate when Millie drops Tim at the train station for a music gig he is hired for, and he out of sheer need to be near her physically, shows up at the school, where they end up having sex (in one of the bathrooms). Millie visits their neighbor and coworker Jamie to apologize for the bizarre events, and ends up drinking some water that Jamie offers her. That night Tim and Millie experience more bizarre events, which leads them to suspect that something sinister is taking place.

The type of body horror that this film illustrates is something that David Cronenberg explored quite frequently during the late 1970s through the 1990s, in films that became quite well known for its daring concepts, including "Videodrome", "The Fly", "Crash", and even "eXistenZ". Michael Shanks successfully sets up the relationship of this couple, one that is at a crossroads in their existence: on one hand there's still love between them, but there's family trauma, professional ambition, and even peer pressure for something to evolve in their relationship. This new environment in which they find themselves in, is a test for their closeness, but also puts them in a unexpected situation, where they suddenly realize that they have to make choices of who they are as individuals and also as a couple. There's faint echoes of Alan Parker's "Shoot the Moon" and even Stanley Donen's "Two For the Road", as these couples all have to face these junctures in their relationship, and come to terms with what they want. Michael Shanks just peppers this relationship attrition with a more sinister underbelly, which is both surprising, but also introduces the topic of this body horror that takes the story, heightening its sense of urgency and unrest to a very different level. This progression of the narrative is gradual, and both Dave Franco and Alison Brie vividly bring these two characters to life in a very authentic manner, depicting this central relationship as something tangible, with its highs and lows. Sadly the supporting characters fail to match their development and intensity, which undermines the film's effectiveness. The production team is solid, particularly Germain McMicking's cinematography, Cornel Wilczek's score, and Nicholas Dare's production design. It's an auspicious debut and a film worth watching.