Toxic masculinity, fraternity culture and critical thinking are scrutinized in "The Line," director/cowriter Ethan Berger's impressive cautionary tale about and hazing. The film, which has its World Premiere June 9 at the Tribeca Film Festival, is a morality play involving Tom Backster (Alex Wolff), a fraternity brother in the fictional Sumpter College's fictional Kappa Nu Alpha chapter. He appreciates the brotherhood and community his frat provides, as well as connections he has with his wealthy roommate Mitch (Bo Mitchell), and the house director, Todd (Lewis Pullman).
However, Tom gets embroiled in a power struggle when freshman Gettys O'Brien (Austin Abrams) pledges KNA. Todd likes Gettsy, Mitch doesn't, and Tom has to keep everyone, including the brash Gettys, in line. This is a tall order, and it becomes difficult to manage when things escalate during a retreat at Mitch's family home.
"The Line" shows how Tom grapples with his conflicting emotions and loyalties, as well as how Annabelle (Halle Bailey), a classmate Tom befriends, helps guide him as he faces a moral quandary. The film depicts the consequences of young men with more power and money than sense.
Berger spoke with Salon about making his feature directorial debut, "The Line."
It's an obvious question, but were you a fraternity brother?
I wasn't in a fraternity, but I lived next door to one. During their hell week, they had [the pledges] listen to that song, it's "Blue," by Eiffel 65, which we used in the film, for the whole week. In addition, a kid who was in a fraternity moved into my apartment, and we used his experience to come up with the screenplay.
There are scenes that depict initiation rites and hazing rituals, but little of the activity is explicitly shown. How much could you expose regarding frat life and this subculture?
This stuff all happens, it just happens in basements. Fraternities are about secrecy and how keeping secrets makes you loyal. We wanted to make a movie that felt like an authentic representation of frat life to people who were in them, but also make a movie that appealed to people like me, who think they are a problem.
Do you think people who are in frats will appreciate that "The Line" is authentic, even though the film doesn't paint them in a good light?
I don't think a lot of people are proud of their fraternity membership 10 years after the fact. I think people join fraternities because they want to fit in. They feel vulnerable. It's the first time they are alone and without their parents. There are a bunch of kids who were in a fraternity at the University of South Carolina, and they play pledges in the movie. They knew I was making a movie critiquing fraternities, and they chose to be in it anyway.
The film is reinforcing and critiquing the frat culture. How do you think that plays for people who participate in this culture?
Maybe the film will force them to ask themselves if it was worth it — whether this institution that they pledged allegiance to has an allegiance to them? I'm not looking to answer anything, just provoke questions. When we are shooting, the American Interfraternity Council wrote a letter to try to get us shut down. So, I think there probably are some people who are concerned about the film. Not every fraternity brother will like it, but that's OK.
Mitch craves respect, but he does not earn that respect from others. Todd represents leadership and authority. Tom is the good soldier. Gettys is the young upstart, and Annabelle is the moral center. How did you envision the conflicts each character would face?
Todd represents the contradiction that exists between the way that fraternities present themselves and what is actually happening. People say that politicians are fake, and I feel like politicians are born in fraternities — this kind of "protect the house at all costs" mentality. Mitch is traumatized, and he uses that trauma to inflict trauma on others, which I feel is a staple of hazing culture. Tom has a million opportunities to leave or just not participate and he begrudgingly goes along with things. Annabelle has the strength to do what he doesn't. She's moral, even if she is cold. Gettys and Mitch are like two characters in a Western — the sheriff and bad guy. Both can pull the trigger. They resemble each other. Gettys is a complicated character who is kind of anti-authority, but he also wants to, as he says, "f**k chicks and be popular in college." At one point, Tom vocalizes what the audience is asking, which is, "Why do you keep doing this?" He wants to fit in — even though he is complicated and terrible.
The pervasive language, which consists of homophobia, racism, sexism and entitlement, is numbing. Can you discuss depicting these toxic male stereotypes and their interactions? It is hard to listen to, but that's what makes it so effective.
I feel the same way. This movie makes me uncomfortable. But so would being in a fraternity house for the night. We tried to be very intentional about everything. I feel this is a world where calling someone "gay" is the greatest insult. That's not a world I want to be in. I think there is this whole thing with fraternities, where they tend to be both homoerotic and homophobic. We wanted to be overt about the racism. Fraternities are mostly segregated with white people dressing rich. I feel this is the antithesis to "Animal House" — not to draw a comparison to that classic — but that glorifies fraternity life, and we are trying to expose another side.
The film shows the perils of group think, and the consequences of speaking up. What observations do you have about the themes of peer pressure in the film, and the idea that characters must toe the line because of brotherhood and tradition?
There is that expression in the movie, "You've never seen a fish on the wall with its mouth shut." What happens when your morality is at stake? It pays to be silent and go along with the crowd, but sometimes there are bigger things to consider. The silence can lead to the cycle repeating.
The relationship between Annabelle and Tom is interesting. She has boundaries and he is intimidated by her. She certainly helps him become a better person than any of his brothers, but their relationship is hardly a romantic one. Can you talk about that?
She is upfront about it when they sleep together; she is not looking for anything serious. She is also the only one who asks him about his family. She brings up his dad, who had passed away. None of his brothers ask him about his family. I think from the beginning, she is questioning the teacher, and the social structure of the school. It is as if she's there and doesn't want to be there, but he wants to be a part of something. He romanticizes the whole thing.
"The Line" plays as dark comedy or satire, and has moments that are documentary-like, but it is also a cautionary tale. Can you talk about developing the experience for the viewer that immerses us in this world that gets worse as it goes along.
We wanted it to be fun until it wasn't. That's what being in a fraternity seems like to me. The pledging process ends with hell week. It's also a credit to Alex Wolff because he is able to get the audience to invest in a character that is participating in some unsavory things.
"The Line" screens June 9, 10, and 18 at the Tribeca Film Festival.
