Movie Review: THE LINE

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: October 18th, 2024 / 02:29 AM

Rating: Not Rated
Stars: Alex Wolff, Lewis Pullman, Halle Bailey, Austin Abrams, Bo Mitchell, Angus Cloud, Graham Patrick Martin, Will Ropp, Denise Richards, Cheri Oteri, Scoot McNairy, John Malkovich
Writers: Alex Russek & Ethan Berger, story by Ethan Berger, Alex Russek, Zack Purdo
Director: Ethan Berger
Distributor: Utopia
Release Date: October 18, 2024

THE LINE, set mostly in 2014, is a slow-burn but well-observed college frat drama. Director Ethan Berger and his co-screenwriter Alex Russek, working from a story they crafted with Zack Purdo, are uncommonly precise in showing how micro-aggressions and small power plays can spiral into disaster.

Tom Backster (Alex Wolff) is overjoyed to be moving into the Kappa Nu Alpha (KNA) fraternity house at Sumter College. Tom’s mother (Cheri Oteri) worries rightly that her son is more into Greek culture than his studies, but Tom insists that the frat is really more important. “Relationships are everything.”

Indeed, Tom’s frat brothers are a well-connected bunch, sons of politicians and successful businessmen. Tom’s roommate and best friend, Mitch Miller (Bo Mitchell), is the offspring of corporation owner Beach Miller (John Malkovich), whose mere name intimidates local police officers.

Tom is well-liked by frat house leader Todd Stevens (Lewis Pullman), who sees Tom as his potential replacement. What Todd can’t see is why Tom pals around with Mitch, who everyone derides for his weight and who really does have a drinking/substance problem.

It’s clear Mitch keenly feels his father’s disappointment, but he hasn’t got the least idea how to seek help, and the bro vibe around him implicitly discourages this – in fact, it seems to discourage both academic achievement and actual human connection.

When it’s time to evaluate freshmen pledges, Todd likes the too-cool-for-school Gettys O’Brien (Austin Abrams), who doesn’t seem to care what anyone thinks. Gettys stands up to Mitch’s bullying, which makes Mitch hate him. This just makes Todd more enthusiastic about Gettys, and Tom feels caught between standing by Mitch and going along with top dog Todd.

Todd gets away with being ambitious, perhaps because he’s achieved senior status. Tom, on the other hand, feels the need to use an exaggerated drawl and appears afraid to be seen to be studying too hard. When he approaches Annabelle (Halle Bailey), a classmate he likes, his desire for tutoring isn’t just a pickup line.

All of the frat boys are reflexively racist and sexist. The homophobic teasing and baiting are so constant and thorough that we can’t suss out who’s in a state of gay panic and who is just using the local language.

Given all the real-life horror stories about fraternity and sorority hazing, what happens in THE LINE seems relatively contained, which makes it all the more troubling.

The filmmakers quietly and steadily crank up the tension and the pressure, so that the events are wholly credible.

Wolff is affecting as Tom, who wants to build his future on friendship and camaraderie. Mitchell shows such real hurt as Mitch that we can’t bring ourselves to fully despise him, and Abrams radiates the kind of genuine confidence that we understand why his Gettys is so appealing to his peers. Pullman gives Todd the surface geniality and judicious demeanor of a born politician.

THE LINE doesn’t propose any solutions. It does, however, persuasively depict how seemingly innocuous steps and accepted social institutions can walk people into tragedy.

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Intelligent slow-burn college frat drama

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