Unfaithfully Yours

Can having sex with someone who is not your spouse save your marriage? Katie Aselton’s feature-length directorial debut, The Freebie, out September 17 (Phase 4 Films), delves into this quandary of commitment and monogamy as it tells the story of a relatively happily married couple (played by Aselton and Dax Shepard, who signed on for the film just 12 hours before the shoot began) who have fallen into a wedded malaise and entertain the idea that the notion of sleeping with other people in order to reinvigorate their own relationship might not be such an indecent proposal. The 31-year-old Aselton conceived of the film at the suggestion of her husband, mumblecore director Mark Duplass (The Puffy Chair, Cyrus)—and its lo-fi production values, low-key naturalism, and reams of low-volume, talky chatter certainly fit within the parameters of a certain aesthetic. But the grace and eloquence of Aselton’s storytelling is what comes through most, resulting in a film that puts a new spin on an old subject. More info at phase4films.com