Thuso Mbedu

Based on Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and adapted by Barry Jenkins, the director of the Best Picture-winning Moonlight.

The premise follows Cora, played by Thuso Mbedu, who flees bondage with Caesar, played by Aaron Pierre, hunted by slave catcher Ridgeway, played by Joel Edgerton.

And the core conceit is that the Underground Railroad is a literal physical underground railroad.

Right.

That is the most precarious tightrope.

But Jenkins centers the narrative on hope and the transformative possibilities of freedom rather than just pain.

The text highlights Thuso Mbedu's shell-shocked strength and determination.

She is the anchor.

Oh.

And I did it with Thuso Mbedu.

Which year was this?

This was, yo, 2017-

... or 2016.

Yes.

With Thuso Mbedu.

Um, she was my lover-

It was.

Okay, but, uh, Thuso Mbedu was there.

Yeah.

Yeah, she was there.

Mm.

I'm reminded of, um, you know, the, the, the, the recording, I think it's a, a voice recording of the legendary Thuso Mbedu who says, "How na chelete? How na chelete?"

Mm.

[laughs]

And the cast they've assembled backs up that confidence.

Thuso Mbedu is Zelie, Damson Idris is Princenton, but then the supporting cast-

It's unbelievable

...

Right.

The audience sits there thinking, "Ah, here comes the big Viola Davis monologue." The gravity of the movie stars can overpower the world-building.

So the adaptation only succeeds if Thuso Mbedu's Zelie remains the undisputed center of the universe.

And this is where the writing credits are so important.