Netflix’s new romcom spy-thriller “The Union” hinges on the romance of two estranged high school sweethearts: blue-collar construction worker Mike (Mark Wahlberg) and secret agent Roxanne (Halle Berry).
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However, throughout the film’s 109-minute runtime, the pair never kiss — a decision that director Julian Farino says was “long debated” but ultimately made to leave fans wanting more.
“We take the relationship to a certain place, and then I think you’ve got to leave a lot of space to go,” Farino told Variety at the film’s L.A. premiere on Monday night. “Netflix always said to us at the beginning, ‘You have to think of this as a possible three-movie idea.’ So if an audience comes out wanting a kiss, then we’ve probably done alright, in my opinion.”
Farino joined Berry, Wahlberg and the rest of “The Union” cast on the red carpet outside Hollywood’s Egyptian Theater to discuss how they brought the Netflix action adventure to life. The film follows a secret service division known as the “The Union,” which specializes in converting blue-collar joes into deadly spies. After an overseas mission is compromised, Roxanne returns to her home state of New Jersey to recruit her high school beau Mike, whose anonymity and construction experience make him the perfect addition to the team.
Berry and Wahlberg echoed Farino’s logic about skipping the kiss. “Once they kiss, then it’s over. We’re hoping if we get to do a second one, we’ll let that chase continue,” Berry explained. “You want to see the journey — to see these two high school sweethearts find each other.”
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Wahlberg concurred: “If we get to go on and do something else, I would imagine there’ll be a lot more than a kiss. But, you know, we’ll have to wait and see what happens.”
Along with the romance, “The Union” serves up plenty of practical action. The film’s shooting schedule was split between New Jersey, New York, London and Slovenia, casting a wide scope of production uncommon in an increasingly prudent industry. Berry was thrilled to be part of a production that shot on location rather than sticking to sound stages.
“We could be on a stage somewhere, just making it all up and pretending that we’re in Italy, that we’re in London or Croatia. But we really got to go to these places, and I think that adds to the authenticity of the filmmaking,” she said. “It helps us as actors get in the right headspace. And then we get to have fun in the off time.”
“The Union” is now streaming on Netflix.
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