A platonic love story, Nikole Beckwith’s follow-up to 2015 Saoirse Ronan-starrer “Stockholm, Pennsylvania” sees two strangers forming an intimate bond under unusual circumstances. Anna (Patti Harrison, “Shrill”), a 20-something loner, and Matt (Ed Helms, “The Office”), a high-strung single man in his 40s, team up to bring a baby into the world in “Together Together.” Matt hires Anna as a surrogate early into the film, leaving the the bulk of the dramedy’s running time dedicated to exploring their evolving relationship and its complicated dynamics. At one point Matt raises toast to his sperm and Anna’s egg and uterus, but it’s clear that their connection runs much deeper than the growing baby that unites them.

The pair’s burgeoning friendship is not without complications. Anna suggests they need “better boundaries” when Matt gets overly involved in her sex life, for example. And his unsolicited comments about her diet aren’t appreciated. Anna and Matt are navigating uncharted territory. Neither has been in this situation before. The unlikely duo aren’t always sure of where they stand, or where they should stand, with one another, and find themselves becoming closer than what’s been recommended. Blessedly, there is no romantic angle at play here. Sparks don’t fly. Instead, a different, gradual kind of intimacy forms.

With “Together Together,” Beckwith wanted to challenge what Anna and Matt “think of love — or think of as love,” she explained in an interview with us. “The more I wrote, the more I realized I had an appetite for a story between a woman and a man that didn’t involve mutual attraction. There are a lot of different ways to be the object of someone’s affection, or to love someone.”

“Together Together” is now in theaters and will be available on digital May 11.