Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star, Letitia Wright, puts down her vibranium suit and picks up a revolver in her first Western film, Surrounded.
In Surrounded, directed by Anthony Mandler (Monster), Wright plays Moses “Mo” Washington, a freedwoman and former Buffalo Soldier who is coming off fighting in the Civil War and wants to lay claim on a gold mine, something that she and her community earned for years of toil.
To do that, she has to travel west, which is still dangerous for a “freed” Black person, especially a woman, so she pretends to be a man. She learns that quickly when the stagecoach she is traveling in, ironically on the back because her skin color doesn’t allow her to ride inside, is held up by Tommy Walsh (Jamie Bell) and his gang of outlaws.
Mo and a few other survivors manage to survive the initial stick-up, and she is tasked with watching Walsh while they head off to bring back the cavalry.
A battle of wills will blur the lines between captor and captive as they try to survive the harsh western climate of dangers.
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Ahead of the film’s release, Cassius Life spoke with Wright, Bell, and Mandler on a range of topics related to the film.
The Concept of Freedom
Immediately when the film begins, you will find yourself asking the question, what does it indeed mean to be free? Mo served her country and is a freedwoman, but she isn’t treated like a free person. We also see how Native Americans are still at the bottom of the list regarding fair treatment by Caucasians in the film.
Sticking with the idea of freedom, we asked Wright, Bell, and Mandler if there was a moment in their lives when they truly felt free.
Wright adds, “That’s a pretty complex question. I think for me, personally, it is just like in the choices that I tried to make in my career. And again, it is hard, but just my NOs are a freedom to me. If I say no to something, it’s like I’m giving myself an extended arm of freedom, like you can do it this way instead of the way they told you you should do it. I think that will be the closest thing I can get to that.”
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If I say no to something, it’s like I’m giving myself an extended arm of freedom…
“I think when my daughter was born, I think that’s a moment when you shed everything, and you’re completely in lockstep. And I think both my kids’ births– and they were both done at home with my wife and I. I think that when I think about the most free moment, it’s that moment there.”
Up To The Challenge For Making A Western
Surrounded will also be the first Western film for both actors, who were up for the challenge of making a movie in the genre.
“Yeah, for me it was super different. I had never done something like that before, but I loved the challenge of it. I like playing different characters and getting into their heads a bit, getting into their worlds as well. So it was cool. I really enjoyed it,” Wright, who also serves as a producer on the film, tells Cassius Life.
…the locations just offered us this amazing immersion…
Anthony Mandler Was Always A Fan of Western Movies
For Anthony Mandler, Westerns were always his jam.
“Now, when you flash that forward with this film, obviously you take the base of those tropes, and you add all the layers of race and gender and all of those dualities of the setup of this movie. I love the complexity of it and the simplicity of it and the way those two things matched in this vast landscape.”
Remembering Michael K. Williams
Besides being the first Western film for the trio, Surrounded also serves as the final on-screen appearance for the late Michael K. Williams.
During our interview, Wright, Bell, and Mandler reflected on their time with the legendary actor while filming Surrounded, with each of them having nothing but glowing praise for him.
…when you’re seeing him, it makes you check your own bullsh*t…
He was a beautiful, kind, gentle human being who just knew how to play tough guys really well.
Mandler continues, “He was a beautiful, kind, gentle human being who just knew how to play tough guys really well. But in this role, I think the duality and the manipulation of using trust and using race in the time to get Mo Washington to do what he wants her to do and really giving no sign that he would actually turn on her the way he does, especially in that time when she’s now trusting this outlaw who you’d never think she trusts and they share this interesting crossroads of their life. I think that X factor of him coming in created a lot of fireworks. You feel it in that sequence.”
Surrounded is available on demand right now.
Photo: MGM
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EXCLUSIVE: Letitia Wright, Jamie Bell, & Director Anthony Mandler Reflect On The Late Michael K. Williams, Making ‘Surrounded’ & More was originally published on cassiuslife.com