We present a challenge for those in enduring partnerships who are fans of scary movies: Settle in with your partner and view Together. The 2025 indie hit recently had its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. At first glance, it could look like typical physical horror, but within Together resides a deep contemplation about how we choose to love our partners.
A Directorial Debut Delving into Partnership Complexities
Together is the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It showcases the real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Millie and Tim, partners that have remained a couple for over ten years. Having wed in actuality in 2017, the two stars infuse a unique chemistry to their characters, skillfully embodying both the strengths and weaknesses of a committed partnership.
The story commences when Tim and Millie relocate from the urban environment to the rural area for professional reasons. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, of course, but that’s largely where the tropes cease. Together becomes as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their new home, a tempest descends, and the two fall into an underground cave. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a supernatural entity begins influencing the duo. This force induces a otherworldly bond between them that goes well past emotional intimacy.
The complete narrative is a slow burn of scares, interspersing elements of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but tastefully done) biological grotesqueries, and genuinely funny exchanges (sometimes in the middle of something horrific). The director orchestrates these parts neatly and delivers them in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is exclusively the performances of its stars, and they masterfully render countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is suffering due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his reluctance to focus on anything other than his floundering music career inexorably rises.
Conversely, Tim experiences isolation and isolated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve relocated rural and far away from his network of friends. He fears the notion of utterly sacrificing his sense of self in another person. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he lacks a driver's license and needs Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move is that he never makes Tim or Millie the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie grapple with the type of challenges that come with long-term unions over a long period. Deep down, they still love each other. They still laugh together, offer support, and are vulnerable at times. But beneath it all, there’s an persistent feeling of questioning about their future together.
Thematic Depth
While the paranormal elements in Together symbolize these fears of codependency and giving oneself over to a partner, the symbolism does not come across as hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these visceral horror elements provide a ideal counterpart to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights enhance each other in harmony.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about unhealthy partnerships. It has been said that single viewers have interpreted the film as a powerful case for avoiding commitment. On the other hand, a few pairs who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to reconcile.
If you are alone or with a partner, your own response could function as a great barometer of how you think about commitment. Will the ending sow a sense of discomfort and fear, or a positive outlook on love? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and feel frustration, or simply glance toward your other half and utter, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can experience at this very moment.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform as of this moment.
