Carrie Coon and Lily James Discuss Their Roles in The Liberation

Carrie Coon and Lily James have spoken about the two women at the centre of The Liberation, a film that opens on January 8. The pair talked about their roles at Contenders Film Los Angeles, in an interview published by Deadline on 15 November 2026.

Coon plays Rita, who is mentored by Ricki King, the character played by James. Coon called the film a love story between Rita and Ricki. Their bond is the emotional core of the story, and both actors spoke about how the relationship shifts over time.

James said she did not want to play Ricki as a caricature villain. She wanted to find the humanity in the character, so that Ricki's choices make sense from the inside. That approach is a common one for actors who play characters the audience may judge harshly at first.

The cast also includes Coon's real-life husband, Tracy Letts, who plays Rita's husband, Reuben. Bella Ramsey and Odessa Young play Rita's two daughters.

The story has roots in real life. Director Guy Nattiv based the film on his own grandmother. The real Rita who inspired the story was the only survivor of her family in the Holocaust, the genocide of Jewish people by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during the Second World War.

The Liberation will have an Oscar-qualifying theatrical run this year. That means it will play in cinemas for a set period, which makes a film eligible for Academy Award consideration. The film opens on January 8, 2027.

Film releases of this kind often follow a set pattern. A cinema run late in the year gives a film a chance at awards season, and a January date keeps it in the public eye when the new year begins. Those choices are made by the studio and the filmmakers together, and the interview gives a first look at how the actors approached the material.