Actress Kerry Washington attends the premiere of “Lakeview Terrace” in New York on Monday.

One major reason Kerry Washington was drawn to the new feature film "Lakeview Terrace" was how it built tension through the misuse of authority.

Her character, half of an interracial couple who move to a quiet Los Angeles cul-de-sac, becomes the target of abuse by their black neighbor (Samuel L. Jackson). What makes the neighbor so dangerous is how he uses his job as a member of the L.A. Police Department to wage his campaign of hatred.

Washington says in that way the film, which was scheduled to open nationwide Friday, ends up being a stark reflection for what is going on in the highest office in the land.

"Right now we have this commander-in-chief that the nation elected. We invited him into the Oval Office and it has been a complete misuse of power. We are in a war for no good reason. Innocent people die every day," Washington says during an interview in August as part of a cross-country trek to promote the film.

It should be no surprise that Washington is a big Barack Obama supporter. She has traveled more across the United States to stump for Obama's presidential candidacy than she has to hype her new movie. At the time of the interview, Washington planned to attend both the Democratic and Republican conventions to work as an advocate for First Amendment rights.

Politics is not the only driving force in her acting career. Washington has worked on heralded films such as "Ray" and "The Human Stain." Her television appearances have included series such as "NYPD Blue" and "Boston Legal." That means she has seen a lot of quality work during her 14 years as an actress.

The script for "Lakeview Terrace" was something original.

"I had never seen this young black woman on screen before. She is young, educated, open minded. That really excited me about the project," Washington says.

She adds, "The film shows us that we have not evolved past the skin issue but we are learning how complex an issue it really is. We talk about race in the context of relationships, economics and politics in this film."