When Ashley (Adria Arjona) asks for a divorce, the good-natured Carey (Kyle Marvin) runs to his friends, Julie (Dakota Johnson) and Paul (Michael Angelo Covino) for support. He’s shocked to discover that the secret to their happiness is an open marriage; that is, until Carey crosses the line and throws all of their relationships into chaos.
This self-described “unromantic comedy” was also co-written by Covino and Marvin, in their follow up to the indie hit The Climb. After it’s riotous Australian premiere at the Sydney Film Festival, and before Splitsville hits Australian cinemas on September 11, Nick L’Barrow spoke with Michael Angelo Covino about finding the earnestness of humanity in comedy, and how the use of one-shot takes were used to keep the audience immersed into their wild ride.
Nick: I’m obsessed with the opening scenes of films, especially ones like Splitsville that really set the tone and grab the audience’s attention. I’m curious to know, from a filmmaking perspective, how important is the hook when it comes to narrative construction, setting tone, and introducing characters?
Michael Angelo Covino: Well, I guess it’s kind of crucial with movies. I realise more and more that movies are not the easiest thing to do, because we’re so used to watching TV now that once you get into the rhythm of characters, you can kind of sit back and relax in this sort of serialised format.
And with movies, the attention span almost feels less, in a strange way. So, it’s crucial– I don’t know how to write a movie without a killer hook or opening scene. Something that just draws you in. I mean, with this movie we had a bunch of ideas for scenes that come later in the film, and scenes that really made us want to make this movie. But I don’t think it was until we cracked that opening scene, with the car crash and everything, that we started to go, “Oh, yeah, we have to make this movie.”
It really was the spark, in a way. We kind of stopped everything we were doing and focused on writing this. I think a good opening scene just charges you up. Whether or not you deliver after that is a whole different story!
Nick: It’s interesting that you mention how audiences are accustomed to episodic story telling these days, because this film and The Climb are broken up into chapters. What was the creative or narrative decision behind formatting that story this way?
Michael Angelo Covino: Hmm. Well… let me think about it. I don’t really know, but with this one, and with the way we [Michael and co-writer Kyle Marvin] write, it jumps around in time a lot, so we’re resetting the story in a lot of cases. You’re sort of ending one moment in the story or a section of time, and then you’re coming into a whole new section of time. A new moment, without any sort of bearings or awareness of what’s to come.
It was also the idea from the beginning that we were going to chapter the movie with divorce terminology. And once we started diving into things like prenuptial agreements, what were the articles we were going to put in there. Then would we give definitions to them? But we did shy a bit away from that.
There’s an aesthetic component to it that we loved to. But I don’t think these movies would work as well if you aren’t giving a clean break, a palette cleanse, and letting the audience that we’re moving on to a new thing. To be prepared for a new chapter, so to speak. We structured it that way, so they kind of need those chapters.
Nick: Another great device you use is the one-shot take during the ex-lovers montage and the party scene. Knowing that you are going to direct the film you a writing, is the idea of filming those scenes in one continuous take something that is decided at a script level?
Michael Angelo Covino: Single continuous takes are a tool, for sure. Every time you cut, you’re breaking reality. Now, you might be able to hide a cut really well, and the emotions and the performances might be so good that no one notices, but it’s still a break in reality.
There is this verite nature to filming someone and not cutting. That’s not to say I don’t want to cut, but if I’m trying to generate energy, and trying to build momentum and tension, a really useful method at my disposal is to not cut and just capture. Then you find ways to find a story justification for moving the camera in a certain way, and revealing things in a certain way.
You know, we talk a lot about perspective with the camera. Most of the film is in Carey’s perspective, because we’re sort of following him in the story. So, inevitably, the hook is following his journey, but we have to come back to more of the characters. There’s scene that have to go into other character’s perspectives.
So, in the party scene, not cutting and following the characters around, we’re reviewing things as they’re experiencing it. It’s a really simple way to put us into the maze and discover what’s going to happen next. And I just love that device. I think it’s really compelling as it builds.
Nick: I think the way you and Kyle explore finding the absurdity in humanity, especially things like our innate desire for connection or our reactions to heartbreak, is both hilarious and very sincere. I’m curious to know how you balance that absurdity and sincerity?
Michael Angelo Covino: I don’t think we allow for anything absurd that isn’t rooted in character. I think the challenge is, and where some broader comedies go off the rails, is they do things for the sake of doing things because they’re funny. But, if they’re not rooted in any understanding of the character, eventually that can wear thin.
What’s interesting is in the fight scene, and the entire fight goes for way too long. Like, unnecessarily long. And you’re sitting there, wondering why this fight is still happening. But underneath the fight is a deep understanding of the emotion, which is jealousy.You know why this person is so upset. And it can keep going on for so long because every punch, everything that is happening, is driven by something that we deeply understand at a very human level. They work because they balance each other out.
Thank you to Michael for his time, and to Madman Films and Nixco PR for organising the interview. Splitsville is in Australian cinemas September 11.
