''Together'' is a 2021 British

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

television film written by

Dennis Kelly Dennis Kelly is a British scriptwriter for theatre, television and film. His play ''DNA'', first performed in 2007, became a core set-text for GCSE in 2010 and has been studied by approximately 400,000 students each year. He wrote the book ...

and directed by Stephen Daldry. It stars

James McAvoy James McAvoy (; born 21 April 1979) is a Scottish actor. He made his acting debut as a teen in '' The Near Room'' (1995) and appeared mostly on television until 2003, when his feature film career began. His notable television work includes ...

and Sharon Horgan as a couple re-evaluating their relationship during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, with Samuel Logan making an appearance as their son, Artie. It was shot in ten days in Kensal Rise, London. The film was broadcast in the United Kingdom on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

on 17 June 2021. Upon release, it received generally positive reviews from critics, with some calling it a "

claustrophobic Claustrophobia is the fear of confined spaces. It can be triggered by many situations or stimuli, including elevators, especially when crowded to capacity, windowless rooms, and hotel rooms with closed doors and sealed windows. Even bedrooms with ...

", "brilliant", and "honest" film set during the pandemic. However, a mixed response was given on its use of monologues and

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

breaks. In her review, Lucy Mangan from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' gave ''Together'' four stars out of five and wrote that it "captures perfectly the emotional dilapidations of a dying relationship". ''Together'' was theatrically released in the United States by

Bleecker Street Bleecker Street is an east–west street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is most famous today as a Greenwich Village nightclub district. The street connects a neighborhood today popular for music venues and comedy, but which was ...

on 27 August 2021. The film won the

British Academy Television Award for Best Single Drama The British Academy Television Award for Best Single Drama is one of the major categories of the British Academy Television Awards (BAFTAs), the primary awards ceremony of the British television industry. According to the BAFTA website, the cate ...

Premise

The film is set in the United Kingdom during the

of 2020 and 2021. It follows a couple who are re-evaluating their relationship while caring for Artie, their 10-year-old son.

Cast

as "he", a self-employed man * Sharon Horgan as "she", a charity worker * Samuel Logan as Artie, the couple's 10-year-old son

Production

''Together'' was officially announced on 13 May 2021, when a "first look" image was released revealing that

and Sharon Horgan would star in the film, set during the

, as a couple re-evaluating their relationship. On joining the cast, McAvoy said the decision was a "no brainer". In a statement, Horgan said that "everyone who got involved in this film had no intention of doing a COVID drama but then we read

Dennis Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius. The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is someti ...

' script and changed our minds". In an interview, Kelly said that he originally wrote the screenplay for a theatrical release but was encouraged by Daldry and producer Sonia Friedman to make it for television. On challenges that appeared while writing, he said that he "wrote it from a very personal viewpoint" based around his experiences during the pandemic. In writing about those experiences, he said: The character of Artie was originally never going to appear in the film and according to Kelly, the first draft of the script was completed between April and May 2020 and was rewritten several times to create a connection between the characters and the viewer.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

for ''Together'' took place for ten days during the pandemic, from 21 April to 5 May 2021, in Kensal Rise, London. As the entire feature takes place in a single setting, filming was quickly completed under COVID-19 protocols in one house, with Horgan describing it as a "beautifully stressful experience". In June 2021, McAvoy said the film does not contain a political message but instead "examines our lives".

Reception

Box office

, ''Together'' has grossed $214,390 worldwide. It was theatrically released in 250 theaters across the United States by

on 27 August 2021. It grossed $102,000 in its opening weekend, consisting of $35,500 on Friday, $37,900 on Saturday, and $28,500 on Sunday, for an average of $408 per theater.

Critical response

The film was initially broadcast in the United Kingdom on

on 17 June 2021. The website's critics consensus reads: "''Together'' is a little too effective at recreating the lockdown experience, although Sharon Horgan and James McAvoy are an appealing duo." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 57 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". From ''

'', Lucy Mangan gave it four stars out of five, writing that while not everyone would enjoy it, ''Together'' presented a "miraculous compression" of 2020. In her review, Mangan mentioned her belief that the film was the first to succeed in projecting an honest experience from the living during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, she described it as a "

" viewing, detailing the usage of monologues to dispense information and how it "captures perfectly the emotional dilapidations of a dying relationship". Writing for ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'', Ed Power gave positive remarks to Sharon Horgan's performance but found the

breaks "discommoding" to the viewer. In their final comments, Power wrote that the finale was "a vaguely happy conclusion – but, more importantly, an honest one". Meanwhile, ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

''s Flora Carr described the film as "savagely funny" and "completely devastating". Comparing it to ''

Staged ''Staged'' is a British television comedy series, set during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom and primarily filmed using video-conferencing technology. The first series premiered on 10 June 2020 on BBC One, and the second series prem ...

'', Carr lauded ''Together'' for being able to address serious issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic in a "brave and brilliant" manner. Similarly, Emily Maddick from ''

Glamour Glamour may refer to: Arts Film * ''Glamour'' (1931 film), a British film * ''Glamour'' (1934 film), an American film * ''Glamour'' (2000 film), a Hungarian film Writing * ''Glamour'' (magazine), a magazine for women * ''The Glamour ...

'' summarized the film by writing that it would "leave you laughing, sobbing and furious". On the fourth wall breaks, Maddick wrote that they would "

ake Ake (or Aké in Spanish orthography) is an archaeological site of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It's located in the municipality of Tixkokob, in the Mexican state of Yucatán; 40 km (25 mi) east of Mérida, Yucatán. The name ...

the viewer feel like they are the mediator in the heated venom-filled arguments as opposed to flies on the wall." Rachel Cooke, writing for ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

'', gave a negative review and found it was a "cheap and obvious pandemic piggybacking" film she described as "tedious and excruciating". Writing for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', Ed Cumming gave it four stars out of five, describing it as an "unflinching domestic lockdown drama". Additionally, Cumming wrote that "sometimes ''Together'' is very funny. I expect many viewers will relate to its vision of the realities of life in lockdown. Its depiction of the gap between the irrepressible people we heard about, who spent the time taking up new hobbies, and the rest of us, who were just trying to limp across each day, is spot on." On the major theme of the film, he found that it was about responding to new struggles: "When it comes to the past 18 months, the right response has rarely been clear."

Accolades

At the

2022 British Academy Television Awards The 2022 British Academy Television Awards were held on 8 May 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall in London, to recognise the excellence in British television of 2021. The nominations were announced on 30 March 2022 alongside the nominations for the ...

, the film won the award for Best Single Drama.

References

External links

* on

* {{Stephen Daldry 2021 films 2021 comedy-drama films 2021 television films BBC Film films British comedy-drama television films Films about couples Films about the COVID-19 pandemic Films directed by Stephen Daldry Films set in the United Kingdom Films shot in London Television shows about the COVID-19 pandemic 2020s British films 2020s English-language films English-language comedy-drama films