For years, movies have celebrated fraternities. Rambunctious films like Animal House and Old School lionized the slobs who made up such institutions, poking fun at the buttoned-up poindexters who opposed them. You’ll find legacy names making up frat rosters because, after all, frats don’t let in people like Homer Simpson, they trade in famous sons like Succession‘s Kendall Roy. Pledging to a place like Kappa Nu Alpha in The Line opens doorways to businesses, politics, and a step up the ladder to the good life. Competition is fierce, and candidates earn spots through questionable methods. But here is where Ethan Berger’s feature debut breaks rank with previous fraternity films. While the film is satirical, the laughs are never shared with the young men on-screen. Had we known what happened behind those closed doors, we never would have laughed.
The Line focuses on the prestigious (but fictional) Sumter College, where Tom (Alex Wolff) is a fraternity member. Tom is from a lower-class family in Florida and desperately wants that foot in the door that could make him a future CEO. Appearance at KNA is everything. Tom wears multiple layers of clothes to look more buff, keeps his hair meticulously slicked and his tie knotted in a Double Windsor. The Florida accent that comes naturally to him is now a lengthy drawl. Nothing too flashy, but he must look the part. Tom’s single mom (Cheri Oteri) barely recognizes her son when he comes home. Now entering his sophomore year, he’s an entrenched member of KNA, partially due to the influence of best friend Mitch Miller (Bo Mitchell), the son of CEO Beach Miller (John Malkovich).
Now, the senior Miller dangles a golden internship in front of Tom, adding some advice for the coming year: “Have you ever seen a fish on the wall with its mouth shut?”
The lying and deception required to keep Tom secure in his Greek standings puts him at odds with other students on campus. The only person in his life who invites him to look through different eyes is his classmate, Annabelle (Halle Bailey). Annabelle is a sounding board for all the ways Tom’s moral compass has been skewed by his KNA dreams. He seeks her approval and wants to be with her more, but the relationship brings scorn and ridicule from brothers at the KNA house. Rather than be vulnerable, these young men plow through insecurity with drugs, alcohol, and treating women toxically. The only things KNA members hold dear are the big speech from Gladiator and casual misogyny, racism, and homophobia.
The boys are fond of their own speeches with Kappa Nu Alpha president Todd (Lewis Pullman) delivers an eloquent speech detailing the legacy of fraternity, while Berger juxtaposes the speech with antics reminiscent of Jackass. Despite the grandiose speeches, the college is starting to crack down on frats. Off-campus retreats and hazing are no longer an option as Todd confides to Tom that they’re under scrutiny now more than ever. Enter new pledge Gettys O’Brien (Austin Abrams), a legacy pledge who simply refuses to play the game now that hazing is off the table. O’Brien’s arrogance puts him at odds with sophomores who don’t want to be the last generation to suffer humiliating rituals — they want to enact retribution on incoming freshmen.
O’Brien and Mitch’s belittling of each other starts as ribbing between two privileged kids who never had to stand down but escalates into something far worse. Scenes featuring Mitchell and Abrams teem with menace. The Line builds dread even when the two aren’t speaking, where rage threatens to bubble up at any moment. Mitchell’s turn draws comparisons to Vincent D’Onofrio’s work in Full Metal Jacket. In an ensemble filled with recognizable faces like Wolff, Pullman, Abrams, and Angus Cloud (in his final performance), Mitchell’s surprising performance is a stand-out.
Cinematographer Stefan Weinberger shoots the frat house like you would a horror film. Many scenes feature lowlight and shadows as if they might carry a spectre of past misdeeds. It’s a technique used later during a climactic scene with slight editing tweaks to instill a Rashomon-like effect on the viewer. Everyone knows what they did was wrong, but Beach Miller’s words once again ring clear: “Have you ever seen a fish on the wall with its mouth shut?”
The Line is not an easy watch. There are moments so raw and painful that retreat feels necessary, but Berger keeps the camera centered on the offending action. The third act will not surprise anyone, yet that underscores the point Berger wants to make. We know what these institutions do and the type of men they produce, but we protect them anyway. Tom is our POV into the hellish world of fraternities. And his performative masculinity dissolves as he realizes he was always an outsider who looked different from the rest of the house. Alex Wolff, memorable from Hereditary and Pig, runs through the emotional wringer as Tom. Berger’s film is an evisceration of fraternities, yet the film’s best weapon is Wolff’s face. Each time he skews his moral compass, Wolff allows a microsecond to reflect the stain it’s leaving on Tom’s soul.
Wolff was already on my radar as a talented young actor. With his compelling portrayal in The Line, the question is, could he be the greatest actor of his generation?
The Line is on VOD/Digital in Canada on November 19.
