Latest news with #Together
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Together is for lovers with strong stomachs
Millie (Alison Brie) and Tim (Dave Franco) love each other in Together, but things haven't been the same lately. As Millie has seen her career as a schoolteacher prosper (almost an unbelievable premise in and of itself), Tim has watched his dreams of becoming a successful musician fade into his partner's shadow. At a going-away party for the couple's forthcoming move to the countryside—a move centered around Millie's newest job opportunity—Millie's musician brother muses to Tim that he was hoping their coupling would make his sister cooler, but all it did was make Tim more boring. The brother then throws a lifeline to Tim: He'll allow Tim to play guitar at an upcoming show, which Tim eagerly accepts. Elsewhere, Millie complains to her friend that the two never have sex anymore, though later in the night she gets down on one knee and proposes to Tim in front of their loved ones with an imaginary ring—a confusing yet sincere gesture. Unlike with the gig request, Tim is so bewildered by this particular offer that he stammers in hesitation a few beats too long, thrusting the doubts both of them quietly hold about their decade-long relationship into sharper relief. Real-life married couple Brie and Franco star as a pair in turmoil in Michael Shanks' debut feature, a horror yarn about losing oneself in love and finding it (and more) all over again. Together physically manifests this simple but powerful sentiment into a body-horror articulation that, while perhaps tame to more seasoned fans of the subgenre, can be difficult to watch purely due to the impressive amount of gnarly prosthetics that Brie and Franco were required to endure. But the idea of Millie and Tim being literally glued at the hip is still a distant dream when the pair moves outside of the city. After they settle into their gorgeous new woodland home (on a schoolteacher's salary?), tensions mount as they go on their separate paths under the same roof. Tim busies himself with prep for the upcoming show that he hopes will revitalize his career, while Millie acquaints herself with her new colleagues. She cozies up to the suspiciously disarming Jamie (Damon Herriman), who opines on the area's hiking opportunities—the perfect couples' leisure activity. Millie and Tim embark on an ill-planned hike that leads them to their overnight entrapment in a mysterious cavern during a rainstorm—a cavern that looks, unsettlingly, like a church which has sunken into the earth. Out of water and resigned to waiting the storm out, Tim offers the last of his thermos to Millie and, in an all-timer dunce move, happily swills from a pool of water that sits undisturbed in the mysterious cavern. When the couple wakes, they discover that their legs are bonded by a sticky substance that rips their flesh when broken apart. This predicament is foreshadowed a bit too obviously earlier in the film, and it's fairly easy to track where Together is going as the story unfolds, but the journey getting there is fun. Where Tim once felt pulled away from Millie, now the opposite holds true; his body seems ceaselessly and perilously drawn to hers, becoming weak, desperate, and insatiable for her touch when their proximity proves too great. After neglecting Millie to practice for her brother's gig, Tim bails on the show entirely when his desire becomes unbearable, leading to an excruciating sex scene foretold by the aforementioned fleshy superglue. Then their roles are suddenly reversed: It's Tim who now yearns for Millie while Millie drifts further away, unnerved by Tim's behavior and concerned that his family history of mental illness may finally be rearing its head. This running mental illness theme, along with a few other additives, feels like one of many obligatory American horror motifs which keeps Together out of arm's reach of being truly great. Once Together's story becomes clear, with familiar signposts dotted along its path like the cultist bells leading to the sunken cave, there is little room for surprise or finesse outside of the actual horror set pieces—which do indeed deliver. That great, genuinely erotic sex scene is preceded by a disconcerting nightmare sequence and followed by at least one monstrous creature entirely realized through prosthetics. Shanks' and his VFX teams' embrace of practical, tactile effects helps uplift a film that might otherwise look rote. And Brie and Franco's performances further elevate the material, overwhelmingly selling the tumult, and romance, of their characters, whose dormant passion aches underneath the passage of time and obfuscation of individuality. The fear of losing oneself to a long-term relationship and losing the relationship is an unpretentious one; spending such a prolonged time with one person can breed resentment and create questions of whether the pairing endures only because it's what they are used to. That the cure could be a literal melding of body and spirit isn't to say that couples must pander to the most toxic parts of dependency; rather, it's that a true partnership involves two people not losing themselves to each other, but finding themselves in each other—realizing their fullest selves through their shared affection. The profound depth of feeling generated by Brie and Franco in the midst of this genre film, one perhaps unattainable if they weren't also married in real life, gives Together a real shot as the greatest romance of the year, even if it's also a film that happens to feature a motorized, saw-toothed blade slicing through mutated flesh. It takes more than gore to undermine the sensation of being so in love with someone that you want to get inside their skin. Director: Michael Shanks Writer: Michael Shanks Starring: Dave Franco, Alison Brie Release Date: July 30, 2025 More from A.V. Club Together is for lovers with strong stomachs What's on TV this week—Chief Of War and Eyes Of Wakanda Rupert Everett says he was fired from Emily In Paris, calls it a "tragedy" Solve the daily Crossword
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Movie Review: Real couple Alison Brie and Dave Franco lead ‘Together,' a codependency horror film
The perils of the dating scene are vast, but there are horrors in long-term relationships too. With intimacy and commitment, there can also come codependency and even convergence. Once individuals, some couples start to dress alike, act alike and even, terrifyingly, look alike. Movie Review: Real couple Alison Brie and Dave Franco lead 'Together,' a codependency horror film On the comedic end, there's the smug marrieds table of 'Bridget Jones.' And then there's the scary end in 'Together,' in which convergence is rendered more literally and where the Spice Girls anthem '2 Become 1' takes on a whole new, horrifying meaning. 'Together,' written and directed by Australian filmmaker Michael Shanks in his feature debut, stars Alison Brie and Dave Franco as the converging couple Millie and Tim. Brie and Franco bring some authenticity to the roles — in real life, they've been together for nearly 15 years and married for eight. When they're calling one another 'babe' on-screen or reacting to the other's light flirting with someone else, the lived-in comfort and easy rapport is evident. That's not to say this film doesn't require them to stretch or act, but the base credibility established by that off-screen fact goes a long way in selling the wild things that transpire down the line. When we meet them, at a farewell party with friends in New York, they don't seem particularly happy together as they prepare to embark on a big life step: moving to the country for Millie's teaching job. Tim is embarrassed when he's made aware of the fact that they're dressed similarly and immediately changes. The mood overall is a little less than joyous — both seem hesitant and their friends aren't exactly supportive either. We learn early that their physical relationship has been lacking for some time. But it's already set in motion and Tim and Millie seem destined, or perhaps doomed, to stay together whether they like it or not. There are a lot of strange things happening in the country before the body horror enters the picture. Tim is haunted by the memory of discovering his parents dead — a frightening image that we're faced with several times. And he's having a visceral reaction to some of the smells in the old home. A warning: Food does not pair well with 'Together.' But things start to go really downhill when the city couple goes for a little hike in the woods and ends up spending the night in a cavernous hole they've fallen into. In the morning, they discover their legs are stuck together by a gooey film. It's immensely painful for them to separate. This is among the most minor of the disturbing images to come, so brace yourself. It might not be Cronenberg, but it's effective. We moviegoers can take the art of body horror for granted, but the makeup, prosthetics and effects teams deserve a lot of credit for making this work. Shanks has a command of the tone and pacing, which isn't without moments of humor and lightness along with the trauma and gore. Tim, in this transformation, is suddenly very hot for Millie, which results in one particularly intense encounter that is at turns awkward, comedic, heartbreaking and utterly disgusting. It's an impressive combination. I'll respectfully stay out of the debate about whether 'Together' is the best or worst date-night movie ever , but it could make for a fun double feature with its Sundance companion 'Oh, Hi!' There are times when 'Together' does start to feel a bit redundant in the wait for the crescendo and conclusion. And like many horror movies, there might be a little too much explanation given for why these things are occurring. Perhaps the alternative would be equally frustrating. Still, it's an impressive work of independent cinema that stays shockingly grounded thanks to its two leads and their fearless performances. If Shanks can do 'Together' with a limited budget, it's exciting to think what he might dream up with a bigger canvas. 'Together,' a Neon release in theaters Wednesday, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for 'language, graphic nudity, brief drug content, sexual content, violent and disturbing content.' Running time: 102 minutes. Three stars out of four. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Toronto Star
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Toronto Star
‘Together,' a gory horror movie starring Dave Franco and Alison Brie, ultimately feels bloodless
You can't make a horror movie these days without getting your thematic ducks in a row, and 'Together' is no exception. Michael Shanks's new thriller is from the school of show-and-tell-but-mostly-tell. If you couldn't intuit from the film's visceral, skin-to-skin marketing imagery that its storyline — about a husband and wife suffering bizarre physical and psychological symptoms after moving to the country — is meant to be a metaphor for the perils of codependency, the dialogue serves to helpfully annotate the proceedings at regular intervals.
Toronto Star
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Toronto Star
Review: ‘Together,' a gory horror movie starring Dave Franco and Alison Brie, ultimately feels bloodless
You can't make a horror movie these days without getting your thematic ducks in a row, and 'Together' is no exception. Michael Shanks's new thriller is from the school of show-and-tell-but-mostly-tell. If you couldn't intuit from the film's visceral, skin-to-skin marketing imagery that its storyline — about a husband and wife suffering bizarre physical and psychological symptoms after moving to the country — is meant to be a metaphor for the perils of codependency, the dialogue serves to helpfully annotate the proceedings at regular intervals.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Movie Review: Real couple Alison Brie and Dave Franco lead ‘Together,' a codependency horror film
The perils of the dating scene are vast, but there are horrors in long-term relationships too. With intimacy and commitment, there can also come codependency and even convergence. Once individuals, some couples start to dress alike, act alike and even, terrifyingly, look alike. On the comedic end, there's the smug marrieds table of 'Bridget Jones.' And then there's the scary end in 'Together,' in which convergence is rendered more literally and where the Spice Girls anthem '2 Become 1' takes on a whole new, horrifying meaning. 'Together,' written and directed by Australian filmmaker Michael Shanks in his feature debut, stars Alison Brie and Dave Franco as the converging couple Millie and Tim. Brie and Franco bring some authenticity to the roles — in real life, they've been together for nearly 15 years and married for eight. When they're calling one another 'babe' on-screen or reacting to the other's light flirting with someone else, the lived-in comfort and easy rapport is evident. That's not to say this film doesn't require them to stretch or act, but the base credibility established by that off-screen fact goes a long way in selling the wild things that transpire down the line. When we meet them, at a farewell party with friends in New York, they don't seem particularly happy together as they prepare to embark on a big life step: moving to the country for Millie's teaching job. Tim is embarrassed when he's made aware of the fact that they're dressed similarly and immediately changes. The mood overall is a little less than joyous — both seem hesitant and their friends aren't exactly supportive either. We learn early that their physical relationship has been lacking for some time. But it's already set in motion and Tim and Millie seem destined, or perhaps doomed, to stay together whether they like it or not. There are a lot of strange things happening in the country before the body horror enters the picture. Tim is haunted by the memory of discovering his parents dead — a frightening image that we're faced with several times. And he's having a visceral reaction to some of the smells in the old home. A warning: Food does not pair well with 'Together.' But things start to go really downhill when the city couple goes for a little hike in the woods and ends up spending the night in a cavernous hole they've fallen into. In the morning, they discover their legs are stuck together by a gooey film. It's immensely painful for them to separate. This is among the most minor of the disturbing images to come, so brace yourself. It might not be Cronenberg, but it's effective. We moviegoers can take the art of body horror for granted, but the makeup, prosthetics and effects teams deserve a lot of credit for making this work. Shanks has a command of the tone and pacing, which isn't without moments of humor and lightness along with the trauma and gore. Tim, in this transformation, is suddenly very hot for Millie, which results in one particularly intense encounter that is at turns awkward, comedic, heartbreaking and utterly disgusting. It's an impressive combination. I'll respectfully stay out of the debate about whether 'Together' is the best or worst date-night movie ever (depends on the relationship, I'd say), but it could make for a fun double feature with its Sundance companion 'Oh, Hi!' There are times when 'Together' does start to feel a bit redundant in the wait for the crescendo and conclusion. And like many horror movies, there might be a little too much explanation given for why these things are occurring. Perhaps the alternative would be equally frustrating. Still, it's an impressive work of independent cinema that stays shockingly grounded thanks to its two leads and their fearless performances. If Shanks can do 'Together' with a limited budget, it's exciting to think what he might dream up with a bigger canvas. 'Together,' a Neon release in theaters Wednesday, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for 'language, graphic nudity, brief drug content, sexual content, violent and disturbing content.' Running time: 102 minutes. Three stars out of four.
