You would possibly suppose “The Line” is solely a movie about illuminating the unhealthy habits of school fraternities and their harmful hazing practices. You’d be unsuitable. Sure, that’s the subject material in query, however within the palms of first-time characteristic director Ethan Berger it’s a richly drawn, slow-burn character examine that abruptly turns into a breathless thriller.
There’s a pivotal scene that happens virtually two-thirds of the way in which into the film that marks the second that “The Line” turns into one of many nice suspense motion pictures in a while. It’s a hazing scene through which the worst potential traits of Greek Life pledging are literally only a cowl for a battle of wills between two guys who hate one another: Frat brother Mitch (Bo Mitchell) and pledge Gettys (Austin Abrams). Mitch is all “Animal Home” bluster however deeply insecure — with a rich businessman father performed by an imposing John Malkovich who demeans him at each flip — and he feels, although by no means expresses, that Gettys, extra polished in each means, has been bullying him. So he in flip bullies Gettys.
All of it culminates in a hazing scene the place Mitch is asking Gettys a litany of questions concerning the historical past of their fraternity whereas beating him with a paddle. The ritual itself is vile, however it’s really getting used for one thing greater than that: For these two would-be alpha males to confront one another, virtually like a duel.
The floor particulars of the hazing ritual all really feel very true to life — Berger educated a camcorder on a former College of South Carolina frat brother to file eight hours of him speaking concerning the abuse he and others confronted — however used to create extraordinary cinematic rigidity. The humorous factor is, Abrams wasn’t even initially supposed for the character he performs. He first learn for an element that in the end went to the late Angus Cloud within the movie, earlier than a chance opened as much as play Gettys.
In a dialog on the Sarasota Movie Pageant, Berger and Abrams advised me how they introduced this extraordinary scene — which ought to have distributors taking discover — to life.
IndieWire: At instances, Gettys, in standing as much as the humiliations of the hazing rituals, appears to be difficult the system. And but there’s at all times at the back of your thoughts that he’s somebody who clearly comes from immense privilege and is simply going to turn out to be as unhealthy as everybody else.
Abrams: I don’t know if it’s him particularly difficult the system. I simply know for myself, even enjoying this position, getting actually aggravated, personally, by [the fraternity brothers] form of telling us what to do. I feel it needed to do with being managed and being belittled and stuff like that, that I discovered to be actually, personally, annoying and irritating.
Berger: I feel Gettys says it within the first scene or within the second scene of the film, that he’s there to get women and get actually in style on campus and he admires Todd. I feel that’s form of his motivation. However then: We’re additionally making an attempt to point out how we outline masculinity by how a lot trauma you’ll be able to endure. And it’s like… why?
IndieWire: The hazing scene Gettys is in, Austin, is so intense we must always actually name it extra of an interrogation scene. I can solely think about what was it like for you as an actor to painting that, to undergo that.
Abrams: I imply, that was an extended day. That was the final day [of shooting]. There was a snow storm and half the crew left. It was fairly loopy. I feel I used to be engaged on three hours of sleep and numerous espresso. And I don’t know. I assumed that the scene… I keep in mind actually writing it really, proper? We wrote all of it through the day. I didn’t actually know what I used to be going into, in a way. There wasn’t form of any grand plan, I wasn’t essentially anticipating something. It was simply form of like… It was good to do it on the finish, since you’ve form of constructed up the emotion, the characters and stuff, from having accomplished the entire shoot and the reference to everyone. And that made it quite a bit simpler. I form of needed to go in and never give it some thought an excessive amount of.
Berger: My perspective as a director and author is that, if anyone has a greater thought, you need to take that. You don’t need to suppose that no matter you write is the perfect factor ever. You rent different folks in order that they’ll contribute one thing to the mission and elevate it. So generally folks would give you concepts that made it higher and we’d go along with them. Or generally, I’d give you one thing on the spot, like in a pivotal scene with Halle Bailey and [the film’s lead] Alex Wolff the place she downplays their relationship by saying “We solely fucked twice.” We had been doing the scene and I yelled that out and he repeated it and that’s it. It wasn’t even within the script. And in order that’s the road that I feel is admittedly essential. Generally you give you issues the day of that you understand make sense and simply obtained to belief your intestine
IndieWire: Austin, you’ve been in some intense issues in your profession, however the place would you say that that hazing/interrogation scene ranks in your profession right this moment, by way of simply the depth issue?
Abrams: Positively probably the most. I imply, it’s one of many laborious issues I’ve accomplished, I feel. That’s positively probably the most intense although, I feel, this one.
Berger: We shot the scene in half a day, as a result of the entire film was filmed in simply 17 days. Like Austin stated, there was a snowstorm, the primary in years in Oklahoma, the day we shot it, and it was our final day and I used to be panicked, it was simply this large factor, clearly. All of the actors had eaten their lunch whereas they had been rehearsing. It was actually inspiring.
IndieWire: I do know most of the floor particulars within the movie had been impressed by the College of South Carolina alum you spoke to, however numerous viewers might not notice that a variety of College of South Carolina frat brothers are literally within the film as background characters. What else did you do to seize the specificity of this tradition?
Berger: So Austin really went to [University of South Carolina fraternity] SAE’s semi-formal earlier than we shot. [Wolff] and I went to SAE and spent a while there. The pledge uniform for our movie’s Sumpter Faculty is what the pledges at College of South Carolina put on: The hardhats, khaki pants and Velcro footwear.
IndieWire: It’s a uniquely co-dependent form of relationship between fraternity brothers on this setting. Had been there any cinematic inspirations you had been seeking to specifically to seize that dynamic?
Abrams: “The Final Element,” I keep in mind watching that upfront.
Berger: There’s a bit little bit of Randy Quaid from “The Final Element” in these characters. Or a film like “Excessive Midday” or a few of these westerns the place the hero and the unhealthy man are form of minimize from the identical fabric as a result of they’ll each maintain a set off. I really feel like that was positively an inspiration for Mitch and Gettys’s dynamic. Keitel and De Niro from “Imply Streets” for [Wolff’s character] Tom and Mitch.
IndieWire: Effectively, on a lighter word, a variety of my IndieWire colleagues, and myself as nicely, beloved the scene the place you had been dancing to The Needed’s “Glad You Got here,” Austin, and one among my colleagues actually needed me to ask you, to interrupt down that scene, how did you go about that?
Abrams: I feel we got here up with that on the day.
Berger: We didn’t manage to pay for for a choreographer, however fortunately Austin had really simply taken a bunch of dance classes for “Euphoria,” and so he was in that mode from having simply labored with a choreographer for the present. Which was so nice: I really like Bob Fosse, “All That Jazz” is my favourite film of all time
Abrams: Certainly one of our producers, didn’t he used to choreograph dances for TV pageants or one thing like that?
Berger: It was one thing like that, yeah.
Abrams: He additionally simply form of got here up with these items on the spot, and we had been all practising it. That was actually enjoyable. That was an excellent, tremendous enjoyable factor to shoot.