Together – Film Review
A couple is forced to re-evaluate themselves and their relationship through the reality of lockdown. She is a charity worker, a coordinator for all of Europe at a refugee charity. She’s the daughter of a dentist father and an `old socialist’ mother and the only grandparent still around. He, meanwhile, is a self-employed, self-made man who runs a boutique computing consultancy.
It was only a matter of time before we started to get an onslaught of films based on the still-rampant COVID-19 pandemic, and it looks as though studios are already hard at work to do exactly that. Last year we had the absolutely insufferable Songbird which felt more like a gimmicky piece of entertainment that exploited the pandemic more than anything else.
Host was not about the COVID-19 pandemic, but it did take place during the time in which almost every public building was closed off and countries were getting locked down, and it was surprisingly an extremely effective horror film that was told entirely through one big Zoom meeting.
And although I can only pray that we don’t get an overwhelming amount of films centered around the pandemic, I will say that Stephen Daldry‘s closely knit, intimate drama Together is an exception. It runs at an incredibly breezy eighty-seven minutes and so there is rarely a time where it’s boring and features two of the most impressive performances of the year so far.
I’ve been a massive fan of James McAvoy ever since seeing him in M. Night Shyamalan‘s psychological thriller Split where he quite portrayed a man with twenty-three distinct personalities, one of which being quite deadly to say the least. His performance here as “He” is not the best of his career but it’s still genuinely remarkable.
The film opens up with He and She (Sharon Hogan) having a long, drawn-out conversation about the pandemic and the various ups-and-downs they have endured ever since the start of the outbreak, and its’ all done in one long continuous take and it’s a thing of beauty. I instantly felt as though I was peering in at two completely real people having a semi-argument about COVID.
And McAvoy makes it look so effortless it’s actually kind of insane. He delivers all of his huge monologues with a charming yet arrogant nature and few actors can pull it off the way he does here. It’s such an understated yet intimidating performance and easily one of the strongest of the year so far. McAvoy has always been one of the most underrated actors out there in my opinion, and this film will show you why.
Sharon Hogan also gets plenty of great moments here as well, including two or three scenes that were surprisingly hard-hitting and emotional. These two lead performances are so simplistic in nature yet they carry with it such a sense of urgency that’s hard to describe accurately.
Together reminded me hugely of a good version of Sam Levinson’s Malcolm & Marie. That movie followed a couple who argue the entire movie but the problem is that we are given zero reasons to care about what they are arguing about. Who even are these people and why should we care? With Together, we care about He and She because we understand the difficulties of living during the pandemic, and watching them on-screen, reminds us of ourselves.
However, I will say that Together doesn’t pack as big a punch as it could’ve. When the film ended I didn’t feel all that much, even though I did enjoy watching the rest of the film beforehand. It’s an incredibly easy watch and it features some remarkable performances but it also feels like it’s lacking a key ingredient somewhere.
But as long as you realize that this film is not going to be an Oscars contender or anything, and you understand that it’s a fluffy film, you’ll probably find quite a bit of enjoyment from it as well.
