In writer/director Michael Shanks‘ “Together,” Alison Brie and Dave Franco play Millie and Tim, a couple who are tested by a supernatural encounter that severely tests their relationship — and their bodies — via some terrifying transformations. It’s a fascinating meditation on codependency given an extra bit of frisson by the fact that Brie and Franco are married; the movie plays like their “Eyes Wide Shut” as another haunting study of a romance under pressure acted out by a real-life couple.
It also has a strong element of body horror reminiscent of David Cronenberg, a director both Brie and Franco consider a favorite. In fact, long before they ever read the “Together” script, they took a deep dive into Cronenberg’s work during the pandemic. “During COVID we would choose directors and just go down that path,” Franco told IndieWire of his and Brie’s nightly movie viewing.
Brie added that although she’s always been a film lover, Franco’s influence has made her more appreciative of the horror genre. “I feel like Dave is my film school when it comes to offbeat independent films that I haven’t heard of, and a lot of horror movies,” she told IndieWire. “I’d watch a horror movie every night if I could,” Franco added.
Though Brie considers “Dead Ringers” to be her favorite Cronenberg movie — and possibly her favorite body horror movie, period — she and Franco saw “Together” being a film in the tradition of the film Cronenberg made right before “Dead Ringers,” his 1986 remake of “The Fly.” “‘The Fly’ is one of the best movies ever,” Franco said. “I’m not saying we’re anywhere near that, but like that movie this is body horror with a romance at its core.”
Although Brie and Franco immediately recognized the potential “Together” had for Cronenbergian body horror, when they read the script they had no idea how Shanks planned to execute the complicated set pieces he had written. “We were so drawn to it because of how unique and bold it was, but at the same time we were like, ‘How is he going to pull this off?,’” Franco said.
After Shanks showed Brie and Franco his short film “Rebooted” and explained his visual effects background they started to feel more relaxed, but not too relaxed — that would have been an impossibility given the 21-day schedule during which the filmmakers had to realize their ambitious vision. “Every single day there were either heavy prosthetics or crazy action sequences,” Franco said. “We were sprinting.”
According to Brie, the fast pace had the paradoxical effect of improving the performances, as everyone operated on pure instinct and fully committed at each moment. “I’ve never felt more free than I did on this movie,” she said. “There was no time to overthink. There was no time to be precious about performance. And the script was so fun and we trusted each other so much that we were able to truly throw ourselves into every take.”
The short schedule also gave Brie and Franco the inspiration to throw themselves into the more physically demanding aspects of the roles. “We could not have sustained that level for a three-month shoot,” Brie said, with Franco adding, “We wouldn’t have survived! But because it was such a short schedule it gave us this mentality of, let’s go for it every day, even if we’re going to get a little bit injured and it’s going to be insane.”
Brie noted that “Together” is essentially a monster movie where the monster lives in the characters’ own bodies, meaning she and Franco were constantly slamming themselves around on set and coming home bruised and battered. “We’re the kind of actors where that’s our favorite part of it,” she said. “It’s a very ‘put me in, coach’ kind of energy.” “We were just so excited with the footage we were getting,” Franco added. “That gave us the momentum and fuel to get over the physical injuries.”
Brie and Franco also found that being a married couple made the shoot far easier than it would have been with other scene partners. “ There turned out to be endless benefits, even more so than we realized,” Brie said. “I felt like so much of the work on the history of this couple was already done just by our history and knowing that we have a base of love between us. Even when the couple is in distress, we knew that baseline would exist for them, and that was really helpful.”
”And this is a very simple thing, but the fact that we were living together meant we could rehearse as much as we wanted,” Franco said. “We could come to set every day and hit the ground running, knowing we have just one or two takes.” “We could discuss any performance things the night before,” Brie said, “and we had a great shorthand together that just saved a lot of time.”
In spite of the physical and emotional challenges of the material, Brie and Franco said there was no downside to playing a dysfunctional couple on screen. “I wish we could give you something, but the very annoying answer is that it really was pretty joyful,” Franco said. “ We did go into the whole process thinking, okay, this is a really intense undertaking that is either going to end in divorce, or we’re gonna be more codependent than ever. And luckily it’s the latter.”
“Together” opens in theaters on Wednesday, July 30 from Neon.
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