Naomie Harris Interview: Black and Blue | Screen Rant
Naomie Harris stars in Black and Blue, a socially relevant police thriller about the role cops play in the communities they're supposed to protect and serve. The film, from director Deon Taylor, follows Alice West (Harris), an officer who is forced to choose between protecting her community or joining the most powerful gang in town: a group of corrupt cops who work with the local gangs to line their own pockets, no matter how many innocent people they hurt – or good cops they have to kill.
Black and Blue is a provocative action film with enough substance to back up its popcorn-friendly momentum. It faces the racial tensions of New Orleans head-on, asking viewers to "be the change" and do the right thing by their community, not just for their own self-gain. It's a strong message and elevates Black and Blue beyond a standard actioner and into a far more relevant cinematic space.
Related: Screen Rant's Black and Blue Review
At a press day for Black and Blue, Screen Rant sat down with Naomie Harris to discuss her role in the film, from shooting in New Orleans to its universal theme of seeing other people as human beings, regardless of their race. Black and Blue is out now in theaters nationwide.
At the screening yesterday, the director said that this is the first studio movie with a black woman as a cop in the leading role. Were you aware of that going in?
Naomie Harris: I was not aware of it going in, but I've since discovered, and I'm blown away by that. It makes it just so historic, this role. It's incredible.
There's so much that people talk about, especially in the media, that we're supposed to be impartial, not political, etc. But when this movie exists, and it makes that statement and there's so much depth of character and heart and soul in this movie, you can't not be political. Was that ever a concern while you were doing the movie, that they might get pushback from the studio about it?
Naomie Harris: No, and I don't think this is about being political. It's about being human, ultimately. Because, that's the question that Alicia is faced with. Am I black? Am I going to join the black community? Is it a betrayal of my black community by joining the police force? That seems like a political decision, but actually, the human thing is to realize you're neither black nor blue. You're just a human being. There's right and there's wrong. You always want to be on the side of the right and stand up against what is wrong. That really is the true message of the movie.
You got to shoot in New Orleans. Had you ever been there before? Was there anything you learned about the community that you shot in?
Naomie Harris: So, I had never been to New Orleans before. My only experience of America is like, The United States and New York. I mean, L.A., sorry, and New York, that's what I meant.
And Miami Vice...
Naomie Harris: Oh yes, and Miami! Oh my God, I forgot about that, because that was right at the start of my career! Wow, yes! That's so true!
One of my favorites.
Naomie Harris: So, I hadn't really filmed in the south before, and everybody talks about this southern hospitality, and I never experienced it. And then I went there and I was just blown away by how incredibly warm and generous people were. But also, I learned about the police corruption and the political corruption, as well, in New Orleans. That's a lot. It's been through a hell of a lot.
Did that ever influence the shoot at all?
Naomie Harris: It did, absolutely, because that's the backdrop of Black and Blue, is New Orleans. It's the other charaacter in the movie that influences everybody and has this kind of... A voice. You know, we talk about it at the start of the movie, the destruction you see as they're driving through the streets of New Orleans that haven't been reconstructed yet. They're still desolate because of Katrina, and the money that was pumped into these areas that were effected, but then nothing happened, because we don't know where the money went.