Aja Naomi King And Nnamdi Asomugha On Reuniting For ‘The Knife,’ Which Is The Latter’s Directorial Debut

Every choice has a consequence, and the new thriller The Knife explores how one decision can change the fate of an entire family.

In his directorial debut, Nnamdi Asomugha explores choice and consequence, a central theme that the filmmaker was particularly interested in delving into. In addition to his work off-screen, Asomugha returns onscreen with his Sylvie’s Love co-star, Aja Naomi King, where this time they play a husband and wife as they work to protect one another and their children. Melissa Leo and Manny Jacinto also star in the movie.

What is ‘The Knife’ about?

According to the official synopsis, “Construction worker Chris (Asomugha) is prepared to do whatever he can to build a solid life for his family, yet his plans are thrown into disarray after a mysterious woman appears in their new home late one night. By the time police arrive, the intruder is lying on the kitchen floor unconscious, a knife in her hand, and it falls to steadfast Detective Carlsen (Leo) to uncover the truth about what happened. Under questioning, Chris, his wife Alex (King), and their young daughters Ryley (Aiden Price) and Kendra (Amari Price) close ranks, hoping to safeguard one another’s secrets — but the choices they make lead to consequences graver than they could ever imagine.”

“You’ve seen the movie, so you know the outcome of the choices my character makes,” King told Blavity’s Shadow and Act when asked if the film has shifted their outlook on decision-making. “When I read this, I was like, had she not done that, I wouldn’t have believed this film because I don’t think that there is a Black woman in America that would have that experience and not do what my character does, because we have an understanding of perspectives and what people walk into a room with, and how someone is going to be perceived, and it is too risky.”

“You see this beautiful family and everything that they have is so sacred and something that this married couple, they cherish their family, their children, everything that they have, you can tell that they’re working tirelessly to keep it all afoot, so to let that go to chance, to even allow a random circumstance, to have a negative outcome, to not try to do something to shore up the safety of your family in that kind of situation,” she continued. “I say that to say, I stand by what my character did, even though we know what happens, I still stand by her choice in that moment,” adding, “There was an urgency there, and it was kind of like if I don’t protect my family, who will?”

Adding the perfect final touch to the film

At the beginning and end of the film, Asomugha’s voice narrates a poignant dialogue about the weight of choices. During our interview, the former NFL star reflected on his game-time decision to incorporate this element into The Knife.

“The narration wasn’t part of the script at all,” he admitted. “That was me in the editing process, trying to figure out what to do with the film and how to tie it together.”

Asomugha added, “Initially, there was just supposed to be music that you’re hearing. He’s listening to music in his headphones, and that was supposed to take you through the beginning and the end of the film. Then, in the editing process, I thought, ‘No, I actually need to hear him say these words, because this is what the film is now representing to me.’ Yes, we want to entertain people. Yes, we want it to be thrilling. We want it to be tense, like you said, we want people to be on the edge of their seats, but at the same time, this film is about choices and consequences, and each character in this film makes a choice that has a detrimental consequence to how the rest of the film plays out, and that needed to be highlighted a little bit more. So, then I put the voiceover in the editing process, and it actually helped me as an editor, because I knew the choices that I was making as an editor were going to have consequences, so it’s even more detailed. I think that’s how it played out for me when you said that line of the choices belong to us.”

On returning to the screen together

Asomugha and King first worked together in the 2020 film Sylvie’s Love, where King played the cousin to Asomugha’s Robert Halloway’s lover, Sylvie, portrayed by Tessa Thompson. Now, they’re returning in a completely different on-screen dynamic, where choices still have dire consequences.

Asomugha joked that the director of Sylvie’s Love, Eugene Ashe, mentioned, ‘Oh, he got with her cousin for the next movie.” He continued, “I just want to say Sylvie’s Love was the reason that I completely went to Aja for this role. I mean, you watch Sylvie’s Love, and she just jumps out on the screen, she’s just taking every scene, and making it hers, and not only that, you can see her essence, right? You can see her light shining on the screen, and that’s exactly how it was when we could call cut. And I was like, ‘Oh, I want to work with her more.’ And I told her that, and usually, when I say that, I don’t want it to disappear, and it’s never talked about again.”

King added, “I think it’s crucial, not only in this industry, but in life, you find your people, you know? You find your community of people, your artists, that you align with, where the way in which they work, not so much the story that we tell, even though the story is phenomenal, but the way that we work together, that’s the treasure. Because we could have been doing a comedy, a horror movie, we could have been doing anything, and I know I would have a great experience with Nnamdi because of the way he works. And so, I would do any project with him. It was a blessing, I mean, such a lovely time. We were doing night shoots too, being happy, feeling artistically satisfied, feeling curious about what the next day would bring, feeling excited to live up to the challenge and do it together.” She concluded, “It was just a wonderful experience.”

The Knife is in theaters now.