Lee Daniels reveals how his spiritual journey, finding forgiveness with Mo’Nique influenced ‘The Deliverance’
“I get emotional talking about it because it was a reunion with my sister that I can't even talk about,” Daniels tells theGrio exclusively about Mo'Nique.
Lee Daniels’ newest film is all about letting go of your demons — literally.
“The Deliverance” follows Ebony (Andra Day), an alcoholic mother who is trying to raise her children by herself after her husband is shipped off to Iraq. Her mother and the children’s grandmother, Alberta (Glenn Close), who used to live a rough life before finding religion, joins her. The family moves into a new home in Pennsylvania, where the children become demonically possessed. With the help of Reverend Bernice James (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor), Ebony must save her family from evil spirits, and in turn, save herself.
The film is about demonic possession in the literal sense, but also about how our inner demons — whether they be addiction, anger, or any other negative influence — can limit us from becoming our best selves. Daniels tells theGrio exclusively that he was originally pitched the movie years ago, but had to go on his own spiritual journey before he could direct the film.
“When it was presented to me a long time ago, after ‘Precious,’ I didn’t want to do it because Ebony was hitting her kids,” Daniels explains. “I didn’t want to repeat that. I just didn’t want to do that thing about abuse. I didn’t want to do it because I truly believe that I’m an open portal when I’m working. I didn’t want that [evil] on me, but I realized that, many, many years later, we’re in dark times.”
“I’m here to scare you to your higher power,” he continues. “For me, it’s Jesus. For [others], it could be Allah or Buddha, or whoever your higher power is. But to bring you to a higher spirituality, because I found myself not in a place of [a] spiritualist prior to this [film].”
Cautious of evil spirits, Daniels says he prayed every day with the cast and crew before filming and had a pastor on set. The director was very intentional about who he wanted in the production and that list included actress Mo’Nique, with whom Daniels had a 13-year feud.
The two clashed in 2009 when Mo’Nique declined to promote Daniels’ film “Precious,” in which she starred. In 2022, Daniels apologized to Mo’Nique, who won an Oscar for her performance, ending their feud and paving the way for the creation of their 2023 film “The Reading” and “The Deliverance.”
Daniels tells theGrio that reconciling with Mo’Nique, who stars as social worker Cynthia Henry in the film, was “part of finding my higher power.”
“[I learned] that I had to forgive and I had to show forgiveness. I had to apologize,” Daniels says. “And not only apologize, but apologize publicly. And not only apologize publicly, but say, ‘Hey girl, let’s hit it again.’ But not only, ‘let’s hit it again,’ but let me put you in something that’s the complete opposite of what it is that you did [in ‘Precious’]. I’m gonna put you in some Gucci and jewelry, even though social workers don’t make that kind of money. We’re gonna have fun.”
“I get emotional even talking about it now, because it was a reunion with my sister that I can’t even talk about,” he adds. “It felt cozy. It felt like, ‘I’m never going to let [a feud] happen again.’”
Daniels and Mo’Nique’s reconciliation points to another theme in “The Deliverance”: believing and celebrating Black women. When Ebony first reports the supernatural occurrences happening in her home, no one believes her. Daniels wants audiences to learn through the film that they should believe Black women when they speak out.
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“So often, Black women aren’t believed. Look at Kamala Harris today, you know what I mean?” Daniels says. “It’s incredible. We don’t believe Black women. And for me, it was about making sure that our women were believed. That was really a crucial part of [the film]. I work so well with Black women. They grew me. They protected me. My aunts protected me as a kid. And so, I celebrate them, and their flaws, and their beauties, and their complications. I’m fascinated. For me, I was in a playground [on set].”
“The Deliverance” is now available to stream on Netflix.
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