Actress and singer Brandy Norwood is perhaps best known for bringing Cinderella to life in the 1997 musical adaptation, starring Whitney Houston. In The front room, She’s the star of an even stranger fairy tale.
The horror film follows Belinda, an anthropology professor who is strapped for cash as the birth of her child approaches. When her husband’s father dies, she opens their home to his wealthy widow. As in Cinderella, This stepmother figure has dark intentions.
Solange (Kathryn Hunter) creates a mess for Belinda to clean up emotionally and physically, crying and demanding baths just like the new baby, who she may or may not be trying to steal. Solange claims to have been given powers by the Holy Spirit, but turns out to be racist and vengeful.
Although Norwood has experience in horror films – she starred in I still remember what you did last summer in 1998 — she told Yahoo Entertainment that agreeing to be part of this new, viscerally disgusting film was a “difficult decision.”
“It’s so different from anything I’ve ever done, and I was really scared about the role,” she said. “I didn’t know if I could do it, but that made me want to do it even more. I wanted to see if I could take my acting to the next level.”
Norwood said working with Hunter helped her stay “as present as possible,” comparing her scene partner to basketball player Michael Jordan.
“Michael Jordan brings out the best in whoever he plays with, and [Hunter] “brought out the best in me,” she said. “I never knew what she was going to do because she never did the same take twice. I had to stay on my toes.”
Hunter praised the writers for her wonderful performance, saying the character “jumped off the page.”
“That’s what happens with good writing. You get a feeling and an image right away, so the characters are floating there and you dive into it,” she told Yahoo Entertainment.
Directors (and twin brothers) Sam and Max Eggers told Hunter stories about their grandfather, making the character of Solange seem more realistic.
“She’s not just an archetype, she’s also a real old woman with her grumpiness, her manipulation and her cruelty,” Hunter said.
Hunter and Norwood rehearsed together for a week before filming, which helped Norwood overcome her nerves.
Norwood hopes audiences will feel all the emotions presented on screen – from horror to comedy – and cheer for Belinda, too.
“With my character, I want people to understand that I fought for everything. I fought for my life, I fought for my dignity, I fought for my baby and I fought for my liberation,” she said.
Norwood has enjoyed a career resurgence in 2024, putting new spins on some of her beloved past projects. She’s featured on the remix and music video for Ariana Grande’s “The Boy Is Mine” alongside Monica, with whom she recorded the original song in 1998. She also reprised her role as Cinderella in Descendants: The Rise of Red.
The Front Room is currently in theaters.
