The much-anticipated satirical horror drama Forbidden Fruits is out in theaters. Actress Lili Reinhart plays the lead character, Apple, in the movie. In a recent interview, the actress laid bare the complexity of her character, who leads an all-girls cult group.
Is Reinhart’s character an exploration of performative feminism?
The movie revolves around a retail employee, Apple, who runs a secretive, all-girls witchy cult along with her co-workers, Cherry and Fig, inside a mall store after work. The film deals with themes of sisterhood and empowerment, as the group follows strange rituals and strict rules built on these foundational ideas. However, the dynamics and core principles of the group begin to unravel after Pumpkin joins the store and is pulled into the cult.
In an interview with Variety, Reinhart said that her character’s “girl’s girl” image begins to unravel as the plot thickens. “She considers herself to be the ultimate girl’s girl, and then ultimately would not do any of those things.”
She further stated that Apple is a flawed individual who has no understanding of “actual love” and mistakes it for external validation. Moreover, she explained that her family upbringing also plays a part in her desperate need for control.
“She doesn’t get it from her family, so she has to get it from other people. And the way she goes about it is by control,” the actress said.
The film is based on playwright Lily Houghton’s plays Of the Woman Came the Beginning of Sin and Through Her We All Die.
Victoria Pedretti plays Cherry, while Alexandra Shipp plays Fig, completing the original cult group. Pumpkin is portrayed by Lola Tung. The film is directed by Meredith Alloway.
Houghton said that she drew inspiration from her personal life to write the play on which the film is based. At 21, fresh out of college and working in a retail store after her father’s death, she came up with the idea that ultimately evolved into the film.
“We wanted to show those voices and what’s boiling right beneath,” she said, adding, “I kind of retreated into girlhood and used that as protection.”
Judging by the character arcs and the playwright’s vision, the film seems to explore how an attempt at feminism through an all-girls group ultimately descends into a bitter power struggle.
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