Interview: The Cast and Director of ‘Surrounded’ on the Challenges of the Western Drama

A gripping story was recently released on digital platforms, as Surrounded followed the story of Mo Washington (Letitia Wright), as she travels west in order to lay claim to a gold mine disguised as a man after her stagecoach is ambushed by a group of murderous thieves. Mo is forced to hold legendary outlaw Tommy Walsh (Jamie Bell) captive while the remaining surviving passengers seek out help.

Awards Radar had the opportunity of speaking with Anthony Mandler, the filmmaker behind the movie, as well as cast members Letitia Wright and Jamie Bell. They all took their time with talking about what they enjoyed the most out of the film, and why they thought the relationship between Mo and Tommy was something interesting when it comes to character dynamics.

Speaking about the peculiar relationship between the characters, Jamie Bell had to say: “I think it’s light and dark. Good and evil. I think it’s two people who have been traumatized in their lives, but they’re on a path of choosing how to deal with that. They’re dealing with it differently. Tommy is a nihilistic person, he wants the world to burn and he enjoys seeing it destroyed. And Mo knows that she deserves so much more, but the way she goes about it is entirely different.She chooses what kind of person she’s going to be.”

When asked about what Anthony Mandler wanted to establish as the soul of the story, Letitia Wrigth said: “The tone feels reflective of that time the project is set in. If you’re in the wild West, everything is up for grabs, you have to watch your back. I guess that the environment and the story, the realistic reality (I’m definitely tired, Wright adds before laughing) of the situation the story is based upon, and the characters find themselves in, would channel the tone. I think we were focusing on Anthony’s vision from the beginning and what he wanted it to be, and trying to achieve that.”

When asked what he liked the most of the lead actors’ performances, Anthony Mandler, the director of Surrounded, mentioned: “As the director, and just a viewer of the film, I’m just really happy with her performance, energy and her ability to grasp the moments to sort of communicate. She has this amazing ability to throttle from intimate and calm to explosive. There’s a very fine line connecting those two emotions, and that’s very rare for actors to have that nuance and understanding of it.

Surrounded is now available on digital platforms.