Interview: Sophia Ali Breaks Down the Ending of ‘Above the Line’

In the film Above the Line, Sophia Ali stars as Emma, aka Princess, as the movie follows six Hollywood hopefuls on a Christmas Eve heist to get revenge on a producer by stealing his undeserved Best Picture awards. The truth of who organized this “opportunity of a lifetime” eventually becomes clear, slowly peeling back the layers of how this plan came together in the third act.

Read Awards Radar’s spoiler-filled interview with the actress below, where we discuss the movie’s genre, Emma’s plan, using real industry inspiration for her character, and more.

Awards Radar: Congratulations on the film. I thought it was so much fun to mix the dark comedy and crime thriller elements with the Christmas of it all. For you, how fun was it to get to play into it as an actor?

Sophia Ali: It was so much fun. Definitely different than what I’m used to, and that was the whole fun of it, was just being able to experiment with that kind of genre and that jam-packed information.

What do you think was the breaking point for Emma to speak up and defend herself, as Jack had originally told her to do, setting this whole plan into motion?

I think in all, she was very flustered, no idea sort of how she wanted everything to play out, but knew the beats, like a writer. Then, I think it just kind of went awry when no one followed what she had originally planned or wanted for it.

Do you think it taught her anything to use going forward as a writer? Writers obviously try to control everything with their work, but will it maybe affect how she continues writing new projects now that she sees not everything can go so according to plan?

It’s funny because at the end, she does end up making her film. So she learned something, because it happens. But I mean, if anything, that’s probably what she learned: someone’s in your way, just kill them.

We do find out the truth regarding Emma and Officer Dalton, which leads to the final act, where she kills Jack. Did you attempt to set up certain small things throughout that would make sense to the audience if they went back to rewatch and put the pieces together? I mean, we did see some moments in that montage, and looking back, it now makes sense why she went back to help Dalton after the car crash, but were there any details that you left for audiences that weren’t obvious?

Yeah, because it’s so funny that Dalton’s terrible at his job, and you don’t expect him to be like some [accomplice], but then, when it reveals, it makes sense because you’re like, ‘Oh, okay, you’re a cop, and you’re terrible at your job. You’re going to be a double-team thing.’ So much of it goes unsaid because the way that he does his portrayal of Dalton is very open, vulnerable, and it’s just not what you would expect a cop to be. So, I feel like the way that he plays his character as a cop almost says it all, you know? And when he messes up, it’s like, yeah, that was going to happen.

She mentions how no one recognizes her voice. What did you want to stand out about how she’s changed from that first pitch we saw with Self-Made Woman to who she is now when she makes the decision to murder Jack?

I think a lot of her instinct to murder Jack is spur-of-the-moment, so it is one of those sort of just snap decisions, and she just breaks, and then acts rash and does it, you know? So, yeah, that’s sort of what I wanted audiences to see is just that breaking point, the breaking moment when no one, even the one person that is counting on the most, could do what she wanted. You still don’t even know what she actually wanted to happen at the end. I mean, I think she did plan for him to die, but I also don’t know if that’s what she planned.

I feel like that’s also really good representation in terms of, yes, she did have a partner in this plan, but at the end of the day, in this industry, you’re mostly alone, and you have to stand on your own feet. So, I felt like that was a good representation of her journey as well, not just as a writer, but as a person breaking into this industry and what she’s going to have to face.

Yeah, I absolutely agree.

Is there anything you kind of brought from your own industry experience to the character, or how you approached certain things with the character?

I’ve met a lot of timid writers, and they’re so different from actors in that regard. They want to be more hidden, or they don’t want to be as noticed. I tried to add those elements into the character as much as I could.

She does get away with everything, and we see her as the powerful one in the industry, casting for her film. What did that mean to you, and what were your final thoughts when you actually read that that was where her story was going to end? How did you feel about your character’s approach in that scene, where she’s just like, “This is what I want, this is what we’re going to do.” Now she’s the one starting this new cycle.

Yeah, that’s the irony, right? Now she’s the new Jack Woodrow, and I hope for her sake that that is what happens because I mean, that universe, it’s so dark, that whole idea. Now she’s going to be a leader in it, which is, I don’t know, for a brown woman, it seems like a handout, but also, she’s a serial killer.

She made that place one way or another.

Yeah, she’s there because she murdered someone in cold blood, and no one knows. So, is she going to get screwed over again? Or is she then going to be [the one screwing others over]? And then, will people even know that it was her?

Yeah, that’s the thing. It never really gave any sort of ending in terms of whether she’s going to get caught.

I mean, she made a movie that is the story of what she did at the end, so if she was going to get caught, it was probably at that point.

At least it would be out by that point.

Part of me wonders if in the real of that universe, when Jack Woodrow discovered the industry, there was a part of him that was like, ‘Oh, one day I will get murdered by a small brown woman who I screwed over.’

There are a lot of TV references throughout, like The Rookie, Outer Banks, Riverdale, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Which one of your projects would have been fun to have mentioned at some point, whether by your character or another?

Probably Grey’s Anatomy. I feel like that would have been a good generic reference to make. I also did Chicago Med, which would have been funny. The Wilds would have been funny too, because that’s so obscure.

If you, as Sophia, got one of Emma’s scripts, what do you think would stand out about who she is as a writer, whether you’re talking about her first script, Self-Made Woman, or her later projects like Self-Made Man?

I think it would probably just stand out how racy it is, and she also seems pretty strong in her opinions. So I bet her scripts are just so drastically her point of view that it’s unique enough.

Above the Line is now available on digital and on demand.