Together

 "She was killed by dumbfuckery!"

I have been skeptical about the many COVID pandemic dramas that are gradually arriving but this one which aired with little fanfare on the BBC intrigued me, not least because it stars the always fantastic Sharon Horgan and James McAvoy. 

Many people were initially put-off by the unusual style of this piece. The camera follows the couple into their house from the drive and the two characters start talking to you, the viewer. The film includes you the viewer as the two leads (never named) talk about what is happening in their lives, sometimes monologuing individually to the camera and at other times monologuing over the top of one another. It takes some getting used to, especially as there are moments where it feels far more traditional with the characters ignoring the camera and interacting only with each other. Many viewers commentated that it feels like a play and there is certainly an element of that but it's filmed in a far more dynamic way with the camera wandering through the house and allowing greater physical distance between the characters than they could have on stage. 

The film is partly a relationship drama. The couple have a son, who appears in the background but isn't a key part of the film, and have been together some time but they find themselves hating each other. As the pandemic rages on and they are locked down together the dynamic changes but it's not as simple as them just getting closer. It felt to me like a way of exploring how complicated relationships can be and setting this firmly within the events of the pandemic. 

Said pandemic is hugely important to this film and it's more than just using the lockdown as a narrative tool. The woman's mother catches COVID and we go through the drama that follows from this. There's certainly a bleakness to it that will be too close to home for some viewers but I felt it worked by always having the pandemic itself happen outside of the house that we never leave. The film becomes hugely political at some points, surprisingly so for something made for the BBC, with Horgan giving a stunning monologue that holds the government to account far more than any journalist has managed to. This was really well done and didn't name any politicians and make it personal but simply highlighted known facts and linked these to the personal tragedy the character (and the real people who went through the same thing) was going through. 

Although it's a drama there is a sense of levity to it at the same time, it's certainly not ninety minutes of bleakness. The conflict between the two characters, especially in the opening section, is sharp and darkly funny. There's also some comic nods to the pandemic like them carrying in a load of toilet paper into the house and McAvoy monologuing on a covidiot not wearing a mask at the local shop. The script really helps to make the film relatable even if you haven't faced the tragedy that Horgan's character has with everyone in the UK experiencing very similar things. 

The performances from McAvoy and Horgan are both superb. They are convincing as a couple and nail every single element from the comedy to the tragedy to the utter rage. There's nowhere for them to hide as they perform mostly directly to the camera and it shows how talented they both are. 

The fourth-wall breaking style is something of a barrier but it's worth looking past because this is a really powerful story that focuses in on the individual tragedies of the pandemic whilst still managing to hold the government to account.