“Rebel Ridge ”stars Aaron Pierre and AnnaSophia Robb explain why it's the latest movie to forgo romance

Terry Richmond and Summer McBride are ride-or-dies, and the "Rebel Ridge" stars wouldn’t have it any other way.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Rebel Ridge.

Like Furiosa and Twisters before it, Netflix's Rebel Ridge is the latest action movie this year to forgo a traditional romantic storyline between its male and female leads.

Instead, Aaron Pierre's U.S. Marine Terry Richmond and AnnaSophia Robb's court clerk Summer McBride forge a close platonic relationship as the latter helps the former take down her corrupt local police department. That Terry and Summer never develop an attraction is part of what drew Robb to the role.

"I don’t think we see male-female friendships enough in film, and I love the dynamic between Summer and Terry," she says. "It allows the film to explore different nuances than would have been possible had it been a love story where attraction is what pulls them together."

Pierre agrees with his costar: "It’s a really beautiful choice on [director Jeremy Saulnier’s] behalf to make this a purely platonic friendship."

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In Rebel Ridge, the action kicks off when Terry is stopped by police while bicycling into Summer's town to pay his cousin's bail. When the cops discover Terry is carrying a large amount of cash, they confiscate it, falsely accusing the out-of-towner of being a suspected drug dealer. When Terry goes to the county clerk's office to figure out how to get his money back, he meets Summer, who explains that thanks to civil forfeiture laws, the cops can keep his cash without ever charging him with a crime.

But Terry, a veteran of MCMAP, the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, doesn't give up that easily. As he continues pressuring the cops to return his cash, he discovers a larger corruption scheme within the department, led by Don Johnson's Chief Sandy Burnne. Terry teams up with Summer, a recovering addict fighting for custody of her child, to take on the local police. “They find themselves in this situation, but there’s immediately this mutual respect,” Robb says. "[Through] that crack of the door, they see each other.”

“He is in awe of her durability,” Pierre says of Terry's connection to Summer. "Her capacity to endure, and also her capacity to stand for what is right irrespective of the circumstances that present themselves to her."

"He’s the impetus for all of [her growth], but in the same way, Terry wouldn’t be able to help his cousin out without the assistance of Summer," adds Robb. "What’s really beautiful about their friendship is the need for one another. He needs her expertise to navigate the system, and she needs him to fight for justice when she decides to do something about the corruption she discovers."

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The duo's bond is taken to another level when Summer is drugged by the cops in retaliation for helping Terry. "Previous to those scenes, we see Summer as just a civil servant," Robb says. "I don’t think she ever anticipated anybody risking their lives for her, especially not Terry, and he does it countless times. When that relationship is established, there’s going to be an eternal bond."

Summer feels comfortable enough to tell Terry about her struggles with addiction and losing custody of her child after he saves her. Pierre also sees the scene as a turning point in their relationship. "Terry arrives at her home, and he is there supporting her, making her oatmeal, communicating with her," he says. "There’s no going back now; irrespective of what the future holds, this friendship is cemented."

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Adds Robb, "We don’t know what’s going to happen in the future between the two of them, but their lives are altered forever."

Rebel Ridge is streaming now on Netflix.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.