Now playing in limited release is Daniel Barber’s Civil War-era drama The Keeping Room. Starring Brit Marling, Hailee Steinfeld, Muna Otaru, and Sam Worthington, Barber’s film sees a household of Southern women left without the company of men during the waning days of the American Civil War. When two drunken soldiers on a mission to claim their spoils of war track the women back to their home, the women must defend themselves against the soldiers’ increasingly aggressive attacks.

As Matt Goldberg said it his review:

“There’s no safety for women in this environment, which may as well be post-apocalyptic due to its lack of supplies, dearth of people, and barren fields. The 1865 setting also serves a narrative purpose because Barber doesn’t tell us when in 1865 the story takes place, so we don’t know if the Civil War is over yet. For our three protagonists, there’s no end in sight.”

While a lot of “Hollywood” films tend to redeem merciless characters or pull back from showing the horrors of war, Barber’s film feels authentic and real and that’s due to a strong script and great work from the entire cast. This is one of those films that’s definitely worth your time. For more on The Keeping Room watch the trailer.

The other day I got to speak with Brit Marling and Hailee Steinfeld about the film. They talked about filming in Romania, memorable moments from filming, how the movie has strong female characters, their reaction to the script, future projects and you can even see Marling explain to Steinfeld why she should watch Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki movies. Watch what they had to say below.

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Brit Marling and Hailee Steinfeld:

• Before camera began we were talking about Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki.
• How The Keeping Room has strong female characters. They talk about reaction to the script.
• How they shot an American civil war story in Romania.
• What would they recommend to people to visit in Romania?
• Memorable moments from filming. Marling talks about working with a number of women and how that is a different experience.
• How they prepared for their roles and the way they like to work.
• How is the Netflix project going for Marling?
• What’s the status of Term Life and Pitch Perfect 3?