Halle Berry made her official directorial debut in Bruised, the upcoming Netflix film she also stars in. Set to premiere on the streaming platform on November 24th, the dramatic movie features the veteran actress as a mixed martial arts fighter faced with complicated decisions as she pushes to take control of her own life.
The 55-year old actress shared with Entertainment Weekly how the film means more due to her decades in the industry.
“It used to be when you were 40 your career was done, and I mean really done,” she remarked. “Or you had to wait until you were old enough to play a grandma, and then you could have another bite at the apple, right? I mean, I couldn’t think that I’d be playing an MMA fighter at 54 years old. Yet I did, so it’s got to be changing. I’m proof of that.”
The Academy Award-winning actress also discussed why she decided to platform her directorial debut on Netflix rather than in movie theaters.
“With the pandemic, I think we pushed ourselves probably 15 years ahead because people want to watch things at home on their own time. They want to stop it and start it,” she said. “So I think we have to start reimagining and rethinking how we’re evolving. People have said to me, ‘You made an independent movie. Why would you sell it to Netflix?’ Because I’m assured people will see it, and that’s the goal! That is ultimately the goal.”
“This about to be the greatest story never told,” Berry wrote on Twitter sharing excitement for the film.
The official synopsis reads as follows:
“Jackie Justice (Halle Berry) is a mixed martial arts fighter who leaves the sport in disgrace. Down on her luck and simmering with rage and regret years after the fight, she’s coaxed into a brutal underground fight by her manager and boyfriend Desi (Adan Canto) and grabs the attention of a fight league promoter (Shamier Anderson) who promises Jackie a life back in the octagon. But the road to redemption becomes unexpectedly personal when Manny (Danny Boyd, Jr.) — the son she gave up as an infant — shows up at her doorstep. BRUISED marks the directorial debut of Academy Award winner Halle Berry and also stars Adriane Lenox, Sheila Atim, Valentina Shevchenko, and Stephen McKinley Henderson in a triumphant story of a fighter who reclaims her power, in and out of the ring, when everyone has counted her out.”
Watch the official trailer for Halle Berry’s Bruised below.