The movie clock never stops when you are “Walking Dead” actress Kerry Cahill, as she is cast in “Mudbound.” This Southern-based film is based on the Hillary Jordan novel of the same name. Set in the 1940’s the film centers on two families who live on the same farm–one white family and one black. The black family works the farm for the white family, but the stories of the characters are endlessly intertwined as they navigate racism, poverty, and World War II side by side.
“I play Rose Tricklebank. Rose is a bystander. That may seem like a simple way to say it, but history is full of a lot of nice people with rich lives that stood by while oppression and racism happened. Rose is stuck in the same system like everyone else in the film. In this movie, I think she represents a lot of people. People in the 50’s that may not have agreed with Jim Crow laws but found themselves unable or unwilling to do much about them,” says Cahill.
The movie is set after World War II – Cahill admits the struggles are still there for veterans, just struggles of a different kind.
“I think soldiers face a different struggle right now. WWII affected our whole nation; we rationed, the draft was enacted, everyone knew someone in the war or participated in the “war effort.” Today in the U.S., only 1% of our nation is connected to the military. The Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has always been an effect of war, but we are fighting a much more amorphous enemy currently and we as a nation are less connected to what our soldiers go through because things are so different now. I think it’s easier to feel isolated as a military family, service member, or veteran right now.”
Netflix bought the movie for just over $12 million and released the trailer earlier this month. “Mudbound” was screened at Sundance and the Toronto International Film Festival. Cited by many movie critics to be the film of the year and possibly Netflix’s first major Oscar contender.
“Cahill says, “I think it’s because it’s the story of a friendship and family. It’s not just about how war affects us or our country, but it’s a story of how people push through that and get to the other side. It’s also a film filled with versions of us, people we can relate to. Particularly for people from the South, I think it’s a look at our history through a lens we don’t get to see all the time.”
Despite having worked with many A-listers, Cahill says, “I was excited to work with Jason Mitchell and Carey Mulligan who is from New Orleans and share a love of Popeye’s on set. I loved Carey’s performance in “Suffragette” and sharing a screen with her was a great moment for me.”
“I am blessed to have a job I love; I am always learning new skills as an actress especially when it comes to using props. I will say that the art of making a paper bag as quiet as possible for sound is one of the technical things they should teach in film school. I am always given noisy props, and the problem is that film sound equipment is susceptible to ANY sound. So learning to bag groceries like a ninja is a new skill I acquired.” Adds Cahill.
The movie is getting a lot of attention ahead of it’s November release.
“I think with a movie like this everyone wants in on the magic of what being on that set was. I believe great movies like this get attention because people want to connect to it. In this film, the story, the director, and the cast came together to make something powerful and meaningful, and people can sense that.”
Along with Cahill, the film stars Garrett Hedlund, Jason Mitchell, Carey Mulligan, Jason Clarke, Mary J. Blige, Rob Morgan, and Jonathan Banks. Mudbound will be available on Netflix and released in theaters on November 17th.
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