Whisper House Press

Film Title: Together

Director & Writer: Michael Shanks

Production Companies: WME

Release Date: Jan. 26, 2025 (limited release: Sundance Film Festival)

Distribution Rights Acquired by: Neon Films

Capone’s Rating: 1⭐ out of 5⭐

You know that old Beavis and Butthead line that goes something like, “You can wax a turd, but it’s still a turd”? Well, Together is among shiniest of turds. A high-value production exhibiting expert crafting and featuring a talented Franco brother (Dave) and the superbly skilled Allison Brie, this film reifies in body-horror terms an answer to the questions, “What do real connection and intimacy look like, taken to their extremes?” and “How does accepting intimacy versus rejecting it look like in literal presentation?”

The breadcrumbs written into the script along the way, the expert cinematography and sound design, and the masterful performances from the actors on screen all lend themselves as best they can to buffer an extremely stupid idea from honest evaluation. But here we have it. I can’t help myself in writing what I have been thinking since leaving this film’s Sundance screening. It was not a good movie, and I regret not listening to my inner voice telling me that it’s okay to get up and leave. The work put into this thing kept me in my seat, but after the credits rolled, I found myself seething. In truth, I’ve never left a film angrier at having been robbed of 90 minutes.