Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs star in the filming version of The Salt Path, coming soon. This touching film, inspired by Raynor Winn’s memoir The Salt Path, highlights the power of perseverance and the hope of the human spirit. The documentary follows the moving story of Raynor and her husband Moth. Along the way, they take on an ambitious, 630-mile walk across the south-west coastline of England, facing both new fears and anxiety from being uprooted from their home.
Cast Gillian Anderson, praised for her performances on The Crown, Sex Education and The Fall, features as Raynor Winn. Her iconic career, spanning five decades, has proven the depths of her expansive range through so many fierce female characters. Her most recent notable performances include portraying a sex therapist on Netflix’s Sex Education and former U.K. At 56 years old, Anderson is still totally crushing it and wowing audiences with her range.
In The Salt Path, Anderson is joined by Jason Isaacs, who portrays Moth Winn. Isaacs, at 61, brings his own unique style to the character, reflecting the couple’s struggles and the emotional weight of their journey. The film aims to capture not just the physical challenges of walking through rugged landscapes but the deep emotional connection shared between the characters.
Anderson already has a reputation for playing badass female leads, and she’s made no secret about loving those roles. “I’ve played a lot of powerful, fashionable women in my career,” she said. Even as she marveled at her amazing body of work, she was proud. This theme is evident throughout The Salt Path, as her character serves as a testament to the strength and ferocity of the human spirit.
Anderson’s portrayal of Raynor is particularly relevant as it highlights a woman’s struggle against adversity. These are all images of women in charge of their bodies and their world. “And any time I had a chance to kind of drive in the opposite direction of that, especially in recent years, that was really appealing to me,” she said. Her passionate, nuanced work promises to do justice to this complex character’s dark journey.
And as Moth, Anderson’s partner in crime, Jason Isaacs brings an emotionality that serves as the perfect counterbalance to Anderson’s performance. He notes the vulnerability experienced by the couple during their ordeal: “They were desperate and lonely and scared.” This longing is at the heart of their trip, which acts as both a literal and figurative passage.
The film’s director, Rebecca Lenkiewicz, stresses the importance of making walking an interesting activity. “You know: how do we make walking dynamic for that amount of time? It felt like we needed almost to take the weather and the landscape as a character,” she explained. We want the film to be contemplative, redirecting the viewer’s attention to silence and the subtleties of nature, so it doesn’t turn into another “chatty, walky comedy.”
Isaacs provides interesting commentary on his passion for physically challenging characters. I just love to climb on top of things, jump off things, paddle through things. Canyons and stuff. I like extreme physical experiences. Even at my advanced age, I see something and I think, ‘That’d be fun to climb up. Or slide down,’” he stated.
The Salt Path movie hopes to impact audiences, delivering a message that feels honest, raw and deeply human. The struggles portrayed by Raynor and Moth offer a glimpse into deeper elements such as struggle, hardship, hope and resilience that so many of us are familiar with.