Sandra Bullock and Rob Morgan lead the cast of Netflix's The Unforgivable. The film follows the story of Ruth Slater, played by Bullock, a woman trying to rebuild her life after being released from prison. Ruth is trying to find redemption in her small and reconnect with her estranged sister while dealing with life outside of bars. The Unforgivable premieres in select theaters on November 24 and on Netflix on December 10.
Bullock and Morgan spoke to Screen Rant about The Unforgivable and the real issues at the heart of the film.
Screen Rant: This movie was fantastic. Suspenseful twists and turns along the way. I was glued from start to finish. Sandra, you're a big champion of this project. What was it that was the biggest draw for you in wanting to get this film made?
Sandra Bullock: On one level, the fact that you had a murder that happened in a thrill ride that I felt people would get lost in. It was entertainment. It kept you hooked on the edge of your seat. And then underneath, there was the tremendous social commentary of what actually exists for millions upon millions of people who are born into poverty who are born into a system that doesn't see them. And the more you learn, the more heartbreaking it is, and the less you can't unsee, and the more you are responsible for shining a light on it, and figuring out how to right that wrong, how to balance things out.
My daughter came from the foster care system, and understanding what those zero to five years mean, and what beautiful babies that never got the chance to be loved and held and cared for and seen, now fill up our prison systems, because they didn't have the blessings that I had, not by anything that I did, but by birthright, a roll of the dice. So a lot of things came into play. And then in the end, what would you do? What would you have done if you're in that position? I know people don't want to forgive and they don't want to see a human being but what would you have done?
Rob Morgan: To play Vince Cross, it was very attractive. One, to play opposite Sandra Bullock. Two, the other amazing cast that we have rounding out the beautiful film, The Unforgiveable. And then Nora [Fingscheidt], as the director, felt that the character was the voice of Ruth being able to stay out of jail, you know, keep my recidivism rate low. Amongst all the other men in the movie, how they interact with her, I felt mine was more of a fine line of, not to call myself a therapist, but in some way, therapy, so that I could give her the blueprint to stay out of jail and then tread that fine line without triggering her in some sort of way or capacity. Because, doing 20 years in jail and then coming out to limited-to-no resources, which often happens, and I understand that as Vince Cross. I just wanted to be the guiding light for her.
Sandra Bullock: Just to add to what he's saying, lack of resources. When women leave prison out of this area, we found out they're given 40 dollars and some clothes that people have donated. 40 dollars... What do you do with that? You're asked to get a phone, to check-in, to create a life, go to a transitional house, if you have that. Most people don't have a support system waiting for them. They come out completely alone with 40 dollars. How do you manage?
Rob Morgan: That's one of the beauties about this film. Hopefully, you can create some type of healthy dialogue so we can start addressing those kinds of things that affect everybody. That affects us all when people are released back into society with no type of help or resources to have them reintegrate themselves in a healthy way. No wonder the recidivism rate is often high. And incarceration for women seems to grow more and more each year. Just for me, studying white women particularly, from 2000 to 2019 has increased by 41% in state and federal prisons. We don't often hear about that, if at all. I thought it was a good project and refreshing project and timely project, too.
