Splitsville Premiere Brings Dakota Johnson to Cannes Film Festival For The First Time
After The Climb (2020), a both funny and cruel portrait of male friendship, which was honoured by Un Certain Regard, Michael Angelo Covino presents a new take on human relationships at the Cannes Première, this time confronting viewers with the fragility of modern romantic relationships.
Be it a quarrel on a ski slope, a chaotic funeral, or an act of betrayal revealing itself on a mountain pass during a bike rid — in The Climb, the bittersweet comedy that won the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize in 2020, Michael Angelo Covino took a funny yet tender look at the paradoxical nature of male friendship over the years.
This debut film, constructed around a series of long, choreographed sequence shots, with its tongue-in-cheek humour and intimate drama, depicted the close friendship and awkwardness of Mike and Kyle, two childhood friends played by the filmmaker and Kyle Marvin, his co-writer.
Viewers are reunited with the duo, both on screen and writing the script in Splitsville, the second feature film by Michael Angelo Covino. In this new take on human imperfections, the authors of The Climb are this time exploring the flaws that can weaken — or strengthen — intimate relationships, reaffirming their penchant for portraying flawed yet deeply human characters.
This is the story of Carey, a kind-hearted forty-something man whose life falls apart when his wife, Ashley (Adria Arjona), asks him for a divorce. As he seeks help from Paul (Michael Angelo Covino) and Julie (Dakota Johnson), two close friends, he realises that the secret of their happiness is having an open relationship. However, when Carey crosses a line, the relationships between the characters turn to chaos.
Speaking with journalists at the Kering suite ahead of her premiere, Johnson, who also produced the film with her production company TeaTime, admitted that she thought “Cannes didn’t want her” because she’s been too many times at the Venice Film Festival. “We signed on to produce it because I saw The Climb (2019) and it’s an incredible film. Mike [Covino] is an amazing filmmaker and the two of them together [with Kyle Marvin] are really a wonderful writing duo. It’s very clever, it’s very soulful, very smart,” was gushing about the work Johnson. “That’s the kind of thing that we love to do is to work with lesser-known filmmakers: that’s a gem, that’s a diamond. We can help, we can support, and we can learn from them as well. It’s nice to have fresh creativity, fresh stories, not repeats, not remakes. It’s nice to speak to a newer filmmaker and feel like you’re learning something.”
Neon have picked the international sales for the film.
Editor in Chief of Ikon London Magazine, journalist, film producer and founder of The DAFTA Film Awards (The DAFTAs).