Tribeca Festival 2023 Review: “The Line” – An Unsettling Brotherhood Nightmare!

To examine fraternities is not a new concept in cinema as films like Goat, American Pie, Animal House, and Neighbors, to name a few, have given audiences dramatic and comedic looks at nationwide Greek life. The Line starring Alex Wolff, Bo Mitchell, Halle Bailey, Austin Abrams, Lewis Pullman, and more casts a lens on fictional fraternity KNA as initiation week begins at the school. What starts off portraying some of the unsettling and juvenile behaviors of KNA members, Ethan Berger quickly is able to put together a multi-layered thematic and horrifying look at these “harmless” traditions.

Tom Backster (Alex Wolff) comes back from summer vacation as an immersing sophomore at his fraternity, quickly becoming the side man to President Todd Stevens (Lewis Pullman) while rooming with his previous freshman roommate Mitch Miller (Bo Mitchell). When new pledges begins to roll in and start initiation, including headstrong freshman Gettys O’Brien (Austin Abrams), tides start to turn within the “brotherhood” resulting in unplanned consequences.

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Ethan Berger’s script is wildly strong regarding its execution to display the harmful power dynamics among young men. Every pledge to a fraternity must go through a hazing process that results in a “shared brotherhood experience” that makes all of the humiliation as well as physical and emotional abuse “worth it.” The film’s examination of how the victim quickly becomes the perpetrator as members advance in the fraternity is so alarming yet realistic.

The characters in The Line are portrayed by a cast of talented actors that play their respected roles with such deep realism it is impossible to watch the film without feeling anger towards how the system often perpetuates young men to fall into these harmful traps that seemingly signify “brotherhood.” The film does not only examine the characters in the present but their plans for the future and how the actions and behaviors they engage in during their time in the fraternity only strengthens the broken system we live in today as adults. There are several scenes that display the consequences of trying to overpower a set of traditions that have been played out for hundreds of years.

One of the most complex aspects of the film is how the film has the audience look at the boys in KNA as we feel obvious disguise and discomfort in their actions while also causing us to look outside our judgements for a second to think about whether these men are terrible or if they are victims in a patriarchal society that drives success and connections as opposed to morals and ethics.

Never does Ethan Berger try to paint a one-sided look at fraternities and the men who join them but instead layer the story to cause the audience to have mixed and confused emotions towards the characters. Halle Bailey’s character, whom Tom hooks up with a couple of times after meeting her in one of his classes, isn’t on screen for a while but plays an important role in showing the college experience from a different point of view and how little these “top dogs” are valued by anyone outside of the organization.

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The Line is a film that can not be missed. When the credits role it causes the audience to sit with everything they have been given throughout the film and come to complex conclusions about a system that we won’t see topple anytime soon, even if we wish it would.

‘The Line (2023)’ Rating – 4/5

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