Exclusive Interview
Inside Sofia Carson’s Journey to Find Love & Healing in ‘The Life List’
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for The Life List.]
Netflix’s shining star, Sofia Carson, is back with the sentimental (and tear-inducing) romantic drama The Life List. Carson plays Alex Rose, a woman reeling from the tragic loss of her mother (Connie Britton) with a complacent outlook on her future.
When the content of her mother’s will is revealed, Alex is stunned to learn that her mother wished for her to complete her childhood bucket list before she receives her inheritance. Alex sets out to check off the hopes and dreams she had as a kid, conquering fears, discovering secrets, and finding romance along the way.
While The Life List is a romantic drama, there are several love stories at play. Alex’s beautiful relationship with her mother is central to the entire film, a mother’s love guiding her daughter long after she’s gone. Carson spoke with Swooon about her latest film and how Alex’s journey has mirrored her own.
Nicole Rivelli / Netflix
“Me and my mom are really close. She’s like my whole world and my compass in many ways that are remarkably similar to Elizabeth and Alex, which I think is one of the reasons why this film resonated with me so deeply,” Carson told Swooon.
Stepping into Alex’s shoes allowed Carson to reconnect with her younger self, a girl who was a “fearless dreamer, who believed that her dreams were boundless and she could do and be anything.” The actress noted that life “jades us a little and and fear becomes a loud voice in our heads, so I think reconnecting with her and tapping into that fearlessness and that profound self-belief really changed me in a really beautiful way.”
The executor of Elizabeth’s will is Brad (Kyle Allen), a young lawyer who serves as Elizabeth’s messenger. Brad and Alex immediately bond, forging a friendship that eventually develops into something deeper. Carson admitted that Elizabeth “one thousand percent” was playing matchmaker with Brad and Alex.
Nicole Rivelli / Netfli
“I think Elizabeth saw something in Brad, and I think that’s why she picked him to be the executor of her will and to be the person that would kind of hold her daughter’s hand in her absence, and that’s such a beautiful thought,” Carson said. She continued, “I think it was beautiful to see how, much like Elizabeth, Brad saw her for this beautiful, colorful creature that Alex hadn’t quite seen. It’s beautiful to watch him fall in love with her, and I think some of the best kinds of loves blossom in that way from from a real and honest friendship.”
Carson smiled as she talked about her “goofy friendship” with Allen, which is “very honest and true to what Alex and Brad were.”
The Life List also explores the bonding between siblings after such an unfathomable loss. By the end of the film, Alex is closer than ever to her brothers. The most important love story is the one Alex has with herself. After feeling lost for so long, Alex found the confidence she needed to move forward.
The film feels very much in line with her 2022 Netflix romantic drama Purple Hearts. It’s clear that Carson is fascinating by the human experience and how love can present itself in vastly different ways.
“I love that in this film, in particular, it isn’t just a love story,” Carson told Swooon. “It’s a love story in a way that you wouldn’t expect it because it’s a love story between a mother and a daughter, a love story between a sister and her brothers, between Alex Rose and herself, first and foremost, and then, of course, she finds romantic love. I think it covers all the dimensions of love that exist in life which is really beautiful, and I do tend to be drawn to that.”
The Life List, Streaming Now, Netflix
