The Independent Film Festival of Boston has been almost a home to the so-called mumblecore movement of the past decade, showing or premiering key films from filmmakers such as Andrew Bujalski or the Duplass Brothers. Actress-turned-filmmaker Katie Aselton (now Mark Duplass’ wife) has acted in several of these films (including this year’s not-so-mumblecore effort from the Duplasses,”Cyrus”) and has now turned in her first directorial effort with “The Freebie.” A lot more polished than her lo-fi roots may suggest, ‘Freebie’ shows a confidence not displayed by many other first-time directors, with its concise execution of a simple story concept.
The film centers around Annie (Aselton) and Darren (Dax Shepard), a hip young married couple who have been together for seven years. Declaring their almost undying love for each other following a dinner party, Annie and Darren appear to be the perfect romantic couple. But when Annie tries to seduce Darren afterwards, only a conversation regarding their nearly non-existent sex life comes out of her attempts. Determining that an infrequent and less-than-satisfactory sex life seems to be the only problem between them, the couple decides to let each other participate in a one night extra-marital affair to somehow rejuvenate their relationship. The premise may sound like a glorified episode of “Friends”, but Aselton executes the subject with such honesty that we never once doubt what we see on screen.
‘Freebie’ employs a non-linear chronology to detail the couples’ planning as well as their night apart – one of the earliest scenes we see is Annie’s return to their chic home after her ‘free’ night of infidelity. At certain moments, we are exposed to three points in time simultaneously, when two scenes alternate in montage with a third, through use of voiceover. Anchoring a good majority of the film is the couple’s central conversation laying down the rules and consequences of their ‘game,’ interspersed with each partner’s quest for a one night stand, and its aftermath. Aselton supplements these time-jumping montages with Julian Wass’s eclectic instrumental score, which, along with Benjamin Kasulke’s slick cinematography, can occasionally stray into ‘sterile indie movie’ territory – one of the film’s few flaws.
Narrative artifice aside, the film’s personal subject matter demands that the audience be invested in its two leads. Taking up the majority of screen time, Aselton and Shepard turn in equally strong performances as the leading characters. More than just acting the parts, the two were also effectively dialogue writers, given that a good amount of the film was improvised based on a short outline that Aselton wrote. Shepard plays Darren, arguably the more affable of the duo, as undeniably charismatic and funny, providing many of the film’s humorous moments. Aselton’s Annie is equally compelling and honest, playing perhaps the more naive of the two.
A big part of the film’s appeal comes from the fact that it, well, is just so charmingly funny. ‘Freebie’ may not even be a comedy, per se, but its humor is so natural and endearing that it is difficult not to enjoy it. You won’t find any Apatow-esque gags or even the forced awkwardness of a mumblecore outing; instead the humor derives from simple character moments that might occur in real-life social situations. Undoubtedly, a big part of the success of these scenes can be attributed to the improvised dialogue between Aselton, Shepard and each of their potential one night dates.
The film’s central allure lies within a certain ambiguity presented throughout the story and sustained until its ending. For example, we are not shown any key moments from either of the lovers’ dates. Thus, the viewer leaves the strongly pro-monogamy ‘Freebie’ wondering what happened during the night in question, which raises issues about the nature of the couple depicted in the film, as well as about our general conceptions of relationship behavior between the genders. Certainly what you make of the film will depend on your gender, age, and beliefs concerning romance; ‘Freebie’ may be just as likely to upset as to enlighten.
Aselton certainly presents an extremely strong debut in ‘The Freebie’ and we definitely look forward to her future projects, both as an actress and as a filmmaker. Though the hip upper-middle class, exclusively white demographic portrayed in the film may not appeal to all, ‘Freebie’ is an honest and thought-provoking look at relationships and fidelity. [A-]