In author/director Michael Shanks“”Together” Alison Brie and Dave Franco Play Millie and Tim, a couple tested by a supernatural meeting that seriously tests their relationship – and their bodies – through some frightening transformations. It is a fascinating meditation on co -dependency with an extra bit of frisson of the fact that Brie and Franco are married; The movie plays like their “Eyebret closed“Like another haunting study of a romance under the press entered into by a real couple.
It also has a strong feature of body horror reminiscent of David Cronenberg, a director that both Brie and Franco consider to be a favorite. In fact, long before they ever read ”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 way, ”Franco told IndieWire about his and Bries nightly film screening.
Brie added that although she has always been a film Lover, Franco’s influence has made her more appreciative of the horror genre. “I feel that Dave is my film school when it comes to independent films that I haven’t heard of and many horror movies,” she told IndieWire. “I would watch a horror movie every night if I could,” Franco added.
Although Brie believes that “Dead Ringers” is her favorite Cronenberg movie – and possibly her favorite body’s horror movie, she and Franco saw “Together” as a movie in the tradition of the movie Cronenberg made just before “Dead Ringers”, his remake from 1986 by “The Fly.” “‘The Fly’ is one of the best movies ever,” Franco said. “I’m not saying we’re somewhere close to it, but like that movie, this body is with a romance in its core.”
Although Brie and Franco immediately acknowledged the potential “together” had for Cronenbergian Body Horror, when they read the script, they had no idea how Shanks planned to perform the complicated sets 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 will he pull this off? “, Said Franco.
After Shanks showed Brie and Franco their short film “Rebooted” and explained his visual effects background, they began to feel more relaxed, but not for Relaxed-it would have been an impossibility given the 21-day schedule during which the filmmakers had to realize their ambitious vision. “Every day there were either heavy dentures or crazy action sequences,” Franco said. “We were Sprint. “
According to Brie, the rapid pace had the paradoxical effect of improving the performances, as everyone operated on pure instinct and fully engaged at every moment. “I’ve never felt more free than I did on this movie,” she said. “There was no time to think about. There was no time to be valuable to performance. And the script was so fun and we trusted each other so much that we could really throw ourselves in every while.”
The short schedule also gave Brie and Franco inspiration to throw themselves into the more physically demanding aspects of the roles. “We could not have maintained that level for a three-month shoot,” said Brie, with Franco, “we would not have survived! But because it was such a short schedule it gave us this mentality, let’s go for it every day, even though we will be a little injured and it will go crazy.”
Brie noted that “together” is mainly a monster film where the monster lives in the characters’ own bodies, which means that she and Franco constantly settled around the set and came home the proposals and beaten. “We are the kind of actor where it is our favorite part of it,” she said. “It’s a very” put me in, coach “type of energy.” “We were just as happy about the pictures we got,” Franco added. “It gave us momentum and fuel to get over the physical damage.”
Brie and Franco also found that it was a married couple made the shot much easier than it would have been with other stage partners. “It turned out to be endless benefits, even more than we realized,” Brie said. “I felt that so much of the work on the couple’s history was already done by our history and knowing that we have a base of love between us. Even when the couple is in need, we knew that the baseline would exist for them, and that was really helpful. “
“And this is a very simple thing, but the fact that we lived together meant we could practice as much as we wanted,” Franco said. “We may be setting up every day and beating the ground, knowing that we only have one or two take.” “We could discuss all the performance things the night before,” said Brie, “and we had a great brevity together that only saved a lot of time.”
Despite the physical and emotional challenges of the material, Brie and Franco said that there was no disadvantage of playing a dysfunctional pair on the screen. “I wish we could give you something, but the very annoying answer is that it was really happy,” Franco said. “We went into the whole process and thought, okay, this is a really intense commitment that will either end in divorce, or we will be more co -dependent than ever. And fortunately it is the latter.”
“Together” opens in theaters Friday 30 July from Neon.
