Cathartic New Film 'Together' Captures Emotions Of Pandemic

CHICAGO (Aug. 20, 2021) — “It’s like something out of a movie,” people said at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. And Stephen Daldry’s new film “Together,” documenting one couple’s experience of the UK lockdown, feels like the first work of fiction to accurately capture the emotional anomaly of the past 18 months.

Sharon Horgan and James McAvoy star as unnamed characters in a fraught relationship, dreading the thought of spending an indefinite amount of time cooped up together with their offbeat young son, Artie. “Together” immediately feels like a stage play, with the two leads addressing only the camera and each other throughout the film’s 92 minutes.

Screenwriter Dennis Kelly subtly takes us through the stages of the pandemic: from the toilet paper craze and social media frenzy of the early days, to confusion about masks, social distancing and the PPE crisis. He outlines the novelty of those initial experiences and how they grew into our daily existence - a reality we still face, to varying degrees.

In a swift-moving series of monologues and emotional exchanges, the film artfully examines a year of pain, from initial panic and confusion, to frustration, to grief and disbelief. It manages to portray the mundanity of sheltering in place without ever feeling tired or stilted; the minutes fly by thanks to the way McAvoy and Horgan remind us of ourselves, and this experience we couldn’t have seen coming. It really is out of a movie now.

“Together” is a surprisingly comforting and cathartic watch for such circumstances. The main couple goes through every emotion, every sort of experience - and we see it all from inside their house, the way we saw a lot of life in 2020. Kelly peppers the story with unbelievably brilliant monologues expertly performed by Horgan and McAvoy, subtly paying tribute to frontline workers and showing all the drastic ways life changed. “He” and “She” tell you stories the way your friends would, and by talking straight to you, strategically bring you into their own all-too-familiar situation.

The language itself is a showcase in impeccable writing - anecdotes and emotions that have to be seen to really be appreciated. But they wouldn’t go very far without the actors, and these two expertly make us care about a couple who spends the first half of the movie breaking, and the second half, hopefully, healing. (Listening to James McAvoy talk for several minutes about harvesting asparagus is worth the price of admission.)

A film as unique as its circumstances, “Together” also manages to be deeply funny. Laugh-out-loud, ‘that’s-just-like-me’ funny. It’s a Nick Hornby novel brought to life - and yet it feels real, as horrifically real and strange as the last year-and-a-half have felt, perfectly capturing the deep frustration and collective loss of this period; the confusion and isolation on this ugly roller coaster ride, from lockdown to peak to vaccines.

McAvoy and Horgan seem to give their performances on behalf of all of us, and our individual experiences of a global crisis. This film is a universal and cathartic tribute; a recognition of the people who went through the worst of it - and still are. Together.

“Together” opens in theaters nationwide Aug. 27.