Allison Brie and Dave Franco have been making rounds in the media as both a couple and coworkers promoting their new film, “Together.” Despite the pair being married, however, this movie is not a romantic comedy, but rather a horror film. We aren’t new to married couples being at the center of scary movies, with Ed and Lorraine Warren in “The Conjuring” and Chris and Rose from “Get Out” being great examples. In “Together,” Tim, played by Dave Franco, and Millie, played by Alison Brie, are a couple who have strong emotional ties to each other and decide to move into a new home.
When we first meet them, we see awkward tension between the two, and as the movie continues, the horrors of their relationship are exacerbated. In an era of therapy speak, the public has become more and more aware of social dynamics and how humans treat each other. This keen awareness transfers over to entertainment as we can better identify conflict between characters, and the couple in this movie is no exception. From the beginning of the film, Tim and Millie are introduced as accidentally wearing matching outfits, something Millie and the guests at the party find endearing, while Tim swiftly changes his clothes. Accidentally matching outfits is not an uncommon occurrence; however, we learn that Tim and Millie are super close, and therefore, this coincidence is likely the result of their identities being tied to one another, and this phenomenon bothered Tim enough to change.
This tension continues when Tim hesitantly accepts Millie’s proposal in front of everyone. Rather than seeing the supernatural elements of the movie, we first see the couple’s struggles and differences being completely grounded in reality. Millie is open and expressive, and Tim is withdrawn and uncommunicative. When they go to bed later that night, Millie foreshadows the film, telling Tim that if they don’t split up now, it will be harder to do so in the future once they move. Despite this concerned warning, Tim assures her he wants to be together, and the couple stays a couple for the rest of the movie.
The opening of the movie does a great job informing the audience of the couple’s dynamic and establishes the tone for the rest of the runtime. A key aspect of their relationship is that there is almost always some level of bickering when deciding to be together or apart. This is a particularly difficult relationship dynamic when Millie has a full-time job, while Tim searches for work as a musician.
Millie leaves the house to teach students and even befriends her boss, Jamie, who also ends up being her neighbor. Whether it’s because the other is tired or busy with work, there is tension when making the smallest of plans. When they finally are able to arrange a date with each other by going on a hike, the joy of their outing is spoiled not only because of a rainstorm but also because they fall into a hole in the woods that opens up into an underground cave.
This is the first time we see them in forced proximity to each other, and it is symbolically where their metaphysical curse starts. When they become stuck there overnight, Tim’s pattern of emotional detachment is shown when he has an anxiety attack while Millie calmly sleeps next to him. His breath is mimicked by the cave, and as he attempts to deeply inhale, the rocky walls cave in on him. When it’s daytime and they’re both awake, they experience their first taste of physically being stuck to one another, feeling a brief jolt of pain, but eventually separating and fleeing the cave.
When they both return home, Millie is freshly recovered while Tim appears to still be disgruntled, not even having cleaned up. Millie goes out to run an errand while Tim showers, leading to the first separation since the curse. Tim mimics the turns Millie makes outside on the road and violently smacks into the shower walls, hurting himself, starting off the beginning of his mental and physical decline. The harmful dynamics of their relationship continue, only now, instead of Tim being aloof with Millie as a partner, he becomes dependent on and obsessive over her.
Together (2025) ‘Fantasia’ Movie Review
This contrast in attitude over their relationship is already unhealthy, but it is especially concerning given that Tim doesn’t have full control over his emotions. Their relationship is put to the ultimate test when Tim is set to go on a trip for his music career, something Millie initially cautioned him against, but then encouraged him to use the opportunity to relax. Predictably, Tim does not have the discipline to make the trip, but what is more shocking is seeing him show up to Millie’s work. After Millie confronts him, Tim begs for closeness and intimacy, leading them to hook up in the school bathroom.
Tim’s peak attraction is reflected in this moment by their near inability to separate from each other. After a painful detachment and almost getting caught by her boss, Millie is understandably furious. Aside from receiving mixed messages of intimacy and putting her job at risk, Tim threatens both of their independence. This was going to be the first time in the movie where they both got to live their respective lives and focus on their interests, a healthy dynamic for a couple. This opportunity never comes as Tim blindsides her with his extremely unbalanced attitude, and they both give into their desire for one another.
This series of events leads to a breaking point where Tim theorizes with Millie that there is some sort of external force drawing them together. The more they try to distance themselves and draw boundaries, the stronger the force becomes, bringing out the worst in both of them. The curse reaches new lengths when the force drags them together from different rooms and connects them by the arm. This morph together was so intense that the only way they could be disconnected was by using an electric saw, which Millie desperately does.
Bloody and defeated, we reach the third act of the film, where the entire plot unfolds. It’s revealed that this curse is part of a cult ritual that literally brings couples together to form into a single being, and Jamie is a part of it. Despite many fights and injuries to achieve medical care and get everything resolved, Tim and Millie find themselves back in the living room, reconnected by the arm. Exhausted from the resistance of separation, they decide to completely give in and form into one person. They become a bulbous monster, but the gross body horror is comically contrasted by their love for one another and the peace they finally achieve in the relationship.
By the end, they take on a human form that is the perfect blend of both of them. Despite the entire movie depicting that these two were better off separated, the couple agrees to an entire life together. Despite the signs that they are not compatible, they stay together until it is literally impossible to break up. While they happily came together at the end, this was only because they had no choice. In life, it’s not uncommon to know couples that will never break up despite their relationship being toxic, and Tim and Millie are great examples of this. At the end of the day, the only thing keeping them together is the very thing that drove them apart: each other.
