'Strung' Cast On Capitalism, Greed And Art Imitating Life In 'Strung'
The Cast Of ‘Strung’ Talk Capitalism, Greed And Art Imitating Life In The Psychological Thriller
- Money amplifies one's true character, for better or worse.
- Greed has no limits, as the wealthy constantly seek more power and wealth.
- Diverse casting allows Black directors to explore genres beyond expected narratives.
During a time when the financial divide between the excessively rich and everyday working class continues to widen, capitalism is a hot topic; and the moral of the wealthy is often questioned. Malcolm D. Lee’s ‘Strung’ exposes the lengths the rich will go to not only to keep their wealth, but keep secrets within the walls of their mansions.
‘Strung’ follows young violinist Laila (played by Chloe Bailey) as she takes on a tutoring job at the wealthy family’s home. She is instantly thrusted into their web of deception and drama. Secrets are exposed and her ability to decipher between the lines of reality and insanity are blurred.
We caught up with the cast of the film, Chloe Bailey, Lynn Whitfield, Lucien Laviscount, Coco Jones and the director Malcolm D. Lee about how much is too much, capitalism and greed.
“Character is free,” says Coco Jones. “And I feel like it doesn’t matter where you come from, where you go, if you don’t have character, it’s going to be amplified no matter what. Money is powerful, but so are words, you know? So are actions and choices.”
For Lynn Whitfield, the true question is how much is enough? “In the world that we live in and explored perhaps more in stories is that, how much is enough? How much wealth, how much power is enough that you can feel comfortable to just so, And greed when there’s this cavernous space that people are saying, I want mine, I want yours, I need more, where does that come from?”
Answering her own question, she added,” I think we’re so, so much interfaced with with wealth and power in the world we live in now that perhaps the answer is for some people, nothing is enough.”
Chloe Bailey kept it short and sweet when asked about her thoughts on capitalism and greed. “The grass isn’t always greener on the other side,” she said.
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Director Malcolm D. Lee Talks Cast
Director Malcolm D. Lee, opened up about choosing the perfect cast to bring to life the Alan McElroy script.
“The good thing about Chloe and Coco, they’re musical people and this is a music drive movie. Music is very much the DNA of this movie. Even Lynn has musical theater training. It was great to cast those folks in it. No hesitation on the two of them because they are both very good actors,” Malcolm D. Lee
“And on top of that, we have actors like Luciem and Anna Diop who are fantasic in their own right anf are fantastic together. And never been together in a movie like this before.”
“It’s great we’re doing movies beyond what is expected. Whether it’s family drama, a hood drama or a romantic comedy, its great that Black directors are getting to do other genres.
‘Strung’ is currently streaming on Peacock.
