The Absence of Eden strikes at the heart of the immigration debate roiling the country during a divisive election year. Zoë Saldaña stars as Esmeralda “Esme” Rojas, a Mexican woman forced to flee after killing a cartel member who tries to assault her. Garrett Hedlund co-stars as Shipp, an ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agent, in love with a possibly undocumented woman (Adria Arjona), and partnered with a vicious xenophobe (Chris Coy) who uses violence as a first response. The film is also written and produced by Saldaña’s husband, Marco Perego, in his feature directorial debut.

Our conversation with Hedlund begins with his thoughts on a news story that made headlines shortly before the interview. A group of undocumented people rushed through razor wire at the border and toppled guards trying to stop them. Hedlund comments, “This film has characters that have chosen an occupation, Shipp in particular, with some moral dilemmas that he didn’t quite know what he was getting into, and it’s accepted that his duty is more malicious than others. Some are stricken with an overbearing beating by their conscience.”

The Absence of Eden was a passion project for Saldaña and Perego, whom Hedlund considers “dear friends.” He “was honored to go on this journey of [Perego’s] directorial debut” and calls Saldaña “an incredible actress and human being.” Hedlund believes the immigration debate has “pulled apart” our humanity and “we must put the pieces back together in order for there to be peace. No matter where you are on either side of this dynamic.” Read on for our complete conversation with Garrett Hedlund.

The Moral Dilemma of Garrett Hedlund’s ICE Agent Character
The Absence of Eden (2024) Release Date April 12, 2024 Director Marco Perego Runtime 132 min Studio Pioneer Pictures, Cinestar Pictures, Ingenious Media, Ashland Hill Media Producer Martin Scorsese, Julie Yorn, Marco Perego, Robert Kravis, Karl Herrmann, Alexandra Milchan

MovieWeb: This film pulls no punches. I saw it the same day news organizations had video of undocumented people rushing through the razor wire at the border. The response online was, “Why not shoot them?” What do you say to those, like your ICE partner in the film, who see the undocumented as threats to be targeted?

Garrett Hedlund: Goodness. This film has characters that have chosen an occupation, Shipp in particular, with some moral dilemmas that he didn’t quite know what he was getting into. In these jobs, perhaps, you come across someone who’s been in it for a time, and it’s accepted that his duty is more malicious than others. Some are stricken with an overbearing beating by their conscience, from A, not knowing what they’ve gotten themselves into, and B, wondering if they can sustain that, perhaps, being able to find footing in a job where the financial aspects are worth the decisions they’re making every day. That’s sort of what Shipp is dealing with.

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Working with His Friends Zoë Saldaña and Marco Perego

MW:The Absence of Eden is a passion project for Zoë Saldaña and her husband, writer/director Marco Perego. You meet up with her at the climax. Talk about working with them in front and behind the camera.

Garrett Hedlund: Zoë and Marco have been my dear friends for a very long time. When Marco approached me about doing this film, I read the script and was very proud of him. It was something very personal to him. It was a beautiful script. It was a dream. I was honored to go on this journey of his directorial debut, to work with Zoë, which was in due time, and was beautiful.

Garrett Hedlund: She’s an incredible actress. She’s an incredible human. They’re both remarkable poets, beautiful parents, and beautiful friends. These opportunities are essential to us as artists, creators, to be in this game long enough, to be able to go off with your friends, and tell a personal story, and for everyone involved to give it their all. It’s what you hope you can do in this profession, in this industry. I’m glad I got to be able to. It means a lot.

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Searching for Peace

MW: Sometimes poetic metaphors are lost on me with the titles. There’s a religious theme in the way that Esme looks at what’s happening to her. What do you think The Absence of Eden refers to?

Garrett Hedlund: Goodness…stand by…something is formulating here…within humanity, there’s a central part being conflicted…it takes Adam and Eve. There’s something essential being pulled apart in humanity. We must put the pieces back together in order for there to be peace. No matter where you are, on either side of this dynamic, this conflict that’s going on in the film, both are declaring that peace is so essential for them to continue and exist in life. That’s all they want. That’s all they’re searching for. That’s all Zoë character is searching for: safety, peace, life, family, connection. That’s all that Shipp’s searching for.

The Absence of Eden will be released theatrically on April 12th from Roadside Attractions.