The Front Room Interview: Brandy & Kathryn Hunter on getting physical in the A24 thriller

Last Updated on September 24, 2024

In The Front Room, Brandy plays Belinda, a pleasant mother-to-be who finds herself fighting for her life – and the fate of her child – against a terrifying adversary: her mother-in-law. But this isn’t your run-of-the-mill pain-in-the-butt mother-in-law. This is Solange, an unhinged, unpredictable force of nature who is utterly disarming and terrifying. Never mind that she’s 80 years old and only weighs about 90 pounds – Solange is as intimidating as any villain in the movies this year. 

Recently, we had the opportunity to talk to these fine actresses who go head-to-head in The Front Room: Brandy, who you likely already know, and Kathryn Hunter, who you won’t soon forget after seeing her performance in the Eggers Brothers-directed movie (you may have seen her recently in The Tragedy of Macbeth and/or Poor Things). Watch the video below to find out what about the screenplay appealed to Brandy, what it was like for Hunter to play this diabolical character, and how the two actresses got physical with each other.

Check out our full review of The Front Room here! Based on a short story by Susan Hill, the film has the following synopsis: Everything goes to hell for newly-pregnant Belinda (Brandy) after her mother-in-law (Kathryn Hunter) moves in. As the diabolical guest tries to get her claws on the child, Belinda must draw the line somewhere… If you would like to read the short story source material, it can be found in Hill’s collection The Travelling Bag and Other Ghostly Stories. Copies can be purchased at THIS LINK.

The Front Room opens on September 6th.