The stars of Netflix’s new thriller are speaking out about the very real “injustice” behind the film: civil asset forfeiture.
“Rebel Ridge” was only released Friday, but has already become the No. 1 movie on the streaming platform. The film, directed by Jeremy Saulnier, follows a fictional U.S. Marine (Aaron Pierre) who has thousands in cash legally seized from him by Alabama police while he’s on his way to bail his cousin out of jail.
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Pierre’s character, Terry Richmond, “is a Black man experiencing the intensity and severity, and in this particular case, the injustice, of civil asset forfeiture,” Pierre told Entertainment Weekly in an interview Friday, adding that the film “highlights our ability as individuals to actively not be complicit.”
But Richmond is no typical veteran. He enlists the help of a local court clerk (AnnaSophia Robb), who learns that justice doesn’t always wear a badge.
Civil asset forfeiture ― when law enforcement agencies seize private property they claim was involved in a crime ― is entirely legal in most states, as the ACLU explains. It’s even legal for law enforcement to keep the property if the owner is never charged with a crime.
Pierre plays fictional U.S. Marine Terry Richmond in the Jeremy Saulnier film.Charley Gallay via Getty ImagesAdvertisement
Former President Donald Trump reversed a policy in 2017 that had limited this practice.
While most affected Americans are forced to enlist costly legal counsel to get their assets back, Richmond takes matters into his own hands.
Robb told Entertainment Weekly that the film “speaks to the power of an individual.”
“It takes place in a small town,” Robb told the outlet, “but it really speaks to a larger audience.”
“When you’re taking care of yourself, trying to put one foot in front of the other, and there’s a situation that comes along and you’re able to alter your course to do the right thing, that action will have a domino effect,” she added. “Being an ally to someone … changes society at large.”
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