This fall, Halle Berry’s directorial debut will be premiering on Netflix.
The movie premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last September.
In the movie, embattled MMA fighter Jackie Justice (Berry) struggles to tackle the sport’s new blood while also dealing with the return of her six-year-old son.
“After 3 years in the making, I am THRILLED to finally announce “Bruised” is coming to @netflix globally Nov. 24. This project is so special to me, not only because it’s my directorial debut, but because the fight game, especially MMA, is a sport that I absolutely love,” the Hollywood actor wrote. “and a genre that has always been winning. Everyone loves to root for the underdog, as we’ve all been there.”
The Toronto International Film Festival did a virtual broadcast of Berry speaking about her decision to direct the flick after reading the script.
“It was written for a 25-year-old Irish Catholic girl,” she said, adding that the producers of the show “let me reimagine it for a middle-aged Black woman.”
“What I loved about the story is it was classic fight film,” Berry added. “I loved the fractured brokenness of this character, and I love to see a film that’s about redemption. I want to see the human spirit soar. I want to see someone rise above obstacles and still be standing at the end of the day.”
Berry says that close friend and producer Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas convinced her to take the reigns.
“I said to her, ‘No one understands what’s in my head, and she said, ‘Why don’t you do it?'” Berry recalled. “I slept on it overnight and I woke up thinking ‘Yes, I can.’ I knew I’d worked harder than I ever worked in my entire life on a character, and the last thing I wanted was for all of that work to be for naught and mistakenly fall into the hands of a visionary who didn’t see it quite the way I saw it.”
Shamier Anderson, who also starred in “John Wick 4” alongside Berry and Keanu Reeves, portrays stars as the MMA league owner. Adan Canto, Sheila Atim and Stephen McKinley Henderson. Professional MMA Valentina Shevchenko stars as Berry’s nemesis in the movie.
