Veteran actress Penelope Ann Miller (“Kindergarten Cop” and “Carlito’s Way”) chatted about starring in the movie “After All,” which was directed by Kerstin Karlhuber.
Miller on ‘After All’
The synopsis is: When Ellen (Erika Christensen) returns home to care for her ailing mother Verna (Penelope Ann Miller) and her estranged teenage daughter Haley (Kiara Muhammad), the three generations of women are confronted by buried secrets and the path toward love and forgiveness.
“This a movie that really has gone so under the radar, and I want more people to see it,” Miller underscored. “While it is a bummer that it didn’t get any real attention this awards season, I am obviously very proud of my performance in it.”
Working with the director and the cast
Miller complimented Kerstin Karlhuber for her exceptional direction, and for being able to balance the emotional moments with the lighthearted ones in the film. “I really loved working with Kerstin,” Miller admitted.
“The cast was so great too,” Miller exclaimed. “I loved working with Erika Christensen, who plays my daughter, and Kiara Muhammad, who plays my granddaughter. Everyone in the cast was just wonderful.”
Playing Verna in ‘After All’
On playing Verna, Miller said, “I just love that Verna goes through something tragic. Obviously, she had a very challenging and difficult past but I think in spite all that, she kind of finds her freedom.”
“Verna does not let any inhibition stop her from speaking her mind, or saying what she feels,” she noted. “Verna just becomes a very free-spirited human being that doesn’t censor herself, which I know can happen with older people, especially with dementia and whatnot.”
“I felt that it was just very liberating with her, and I love that quality about her inhibition,” Miller said. “Verna becomes very uninhibited, and I found that really refreshing to play. Verna is just a complex character to play with a lot of layers.”
“Obviously she’s struggling with what’s going on with her, but I think with her daughter having to come back to care for her and reuniting and they reunite. Everything sort of happens for a reason, and it’s a good one,” she explained.
Working with Erika Christensen
On working with Erika Christensen as her on-screen daughter, Miller said, “It is such a complex relationship.”
“There is so much going on there and I feel like that’s why she’s so protective of her granddaughter, because it was all the things she wasn’t able to do to protect her own daughter. So, I found that relationship to be very interesting,” she elaborated
“We are so different, as characters,” she said. “I found that really interesting because, you can have a child and be like, ‘How did that child come from me?’ I don’t get it. Then, there’s just so much that she discovers from her past by coming home.”
“It was a healing journey for both of them,” Miller acknowledged.
Lessons learned from the ‘After All’ screenplay
On the lessons learned from this screenplay, Miller reflected, “It all ends up being about facing your past, and learning to love again and forgive, which I find is so relatable to so many people, whether you’re a man or a woman.”
“People go through so much in their lives such as caring for an elderly parent, or a loved one getting sick, or an estrangement with a sibling or a son or a daughter. I mean, I think we go through so much of that, and many people can relate to that,” Miller elaborated.
“The screenwriter (Jack Bryant), interestingly enough is a man, and he made it about a woman (Erika Christen’s character) instead of a young man. I found that very interesting because he fictionalized his own story… essentially a lot of those relationships were real and happened to him,” she explained.
“So, I found that very interesting and that he made it a story about three generations of women. That was pretty cool for a man to do,” she added.
Working with David Lipper on two new movies
Miller noted that she enjoyed working with actor and filmmaker David Lipper in
“Murder at Hollow Creek” and a new film (that has yet to be announced).
“I loved working with David Lipper,” she said. “We had such a good time filming in Mississippi, even though it was freezing. I can’t wait for these two movies to come out soon,” Miller foreshadowed.
Closing thoughts on ‘After All’
For fans and viewers, Miller expressed, “Our film was more under the radar and more obscure than most of the films that were released over the past year, but it is really beautiful, and I hope many more people get to see it.”
To learn more about actress Penelope Ann Miller, follow her on Instagram.
Read More: “After All,” starring Penelope Ann Miller and Erika Christensen, review.
