In a media landscape that is completely saturated with post-apocalyptic films centered on white families whose survival stories are supposed to be relatable, co-writer and director RT Thorne's feature debut 40 acres It stands out as an inspired new entry in the genre's canon. Rather than trying to reinvent the wheel, the film tackles things head-on with its brutal exploration of what it takes for hope to take root in a world that seems doomed.
Set in the near future where the world has been devastated by a global pandemic, widespread famine, and the outbreak of a new civil war in the United States, 40 acres It tells the story of Hailey Freeman (Danielle Deadwyler), a soldier-turned-farmer struggling to keep her family safe. With society all but collapsed and the food production system destroyed by the depletion of arable land, fertile farms like Hailey’s, where crops still grow, are a precious gift that people would gladly kill for.
For Hailey, the farm is more than just a remote piece of land in the middle of the Canadian wilderness – it’s a family heirloom that’s been passed down through the generations from her ancestors, who first claimed it during Reconstruction. It’s also the home she shares with her partner Galen (Michael Greyeyes) and their blended family of children (Leenah Robinson, Jaeda LeBlanc, Haile Amare). But even though the Freemans live relatively safely off the grid and surrounded by their electric fence, Hailey and Galen know it could all be taken away from them in an instant. That’s why they keep their children combat-trained and ready to defend their land by any means necessary.
Image: Hungry Eyes Film & Television
Hailey’s sternness and insistence that they can’t trust anyone are reflections of a deeper inability to connect or be emotionally vulnerable with people, especially in the eyes of her teenage son Emanuel (Kataem O’Connor). Every time he sneaks away to be alone in the woods, there’s a part of him that can’t help but hope that he’ll see someone new who can make his small world seem bigger. It seems like his wish is coming true when he unexpectedly spots Dawn (Milcania Díaz-Rojas), a girl whose beauty inspires him to start filling a sketchbook with drawings. But when the Freemans receive word that the small, secret network of farmers they’re part of is being methodically attacked by marauding bands of cannibals, Hailey puts them on high alert to prepare for the inevitable.
40 acres comes in incredibly hot with a slick and brutal opening action sequence that immediately sets the tone for Thorne, best known for his work in music videos and the creation of From Hulu Waterfalls of Utopia — takes the plunge into cinematic adventure for the first time in her career. The Freemans move like a well-oiled machine as they take out a group of intruders with precise headshots from across the cornfields and knife stabs in close-up to ensure the job is finished. They’re lethal by necessity because anything else would mean risking being tortured, killed and probably eaten. But Thorne and co-writer Glenn Taylor also highlight how, for all of Hailey’s sternness with her children, she’s also instilled in them a deep understanding of how protecting their lives is key to preserving the Black and Indigenous cultural legacies they’re a part of.
In stark contrast to other apocalyptic thrillers like the first two A quiet place(s) and the recent Mad Max characteristicswhere people of color were few and far between, 40 acres It is very explicit about how the Freemans' racial identities shape their experiences at the end of time. Often, these kinds of films lean heavily on images of white nuclear families in a way that makes them read as expressions of social anxiety about dehumanized Others. But 40 acres frames the Freemans as people upholding the family tradition of survival in a world that has never really provided them with any sense of guaranteed security.
Though the film is very much an ensemble piece, Deadwyler stands out with a magnetic and downright terrifying performance that conveys just how scared Hailey is for her children. She'd rather have her kids hate her than see them devoured by demons, but you can sense that it still hurts her when sensitive romantic Emanuel walks away. Because Deadwyler is so effective at conveying Hailey's grim warnings about the danger lurking everywhere, it's a little infuriating to watch people make extremely foolish decisions that put children's lives in danger. 40 acres' The plot gets moving. But as predictable as some of the movie's beats are, Thorne and cinematographer Jeremy Benning excel at making it 40 acres'The action scenes shine in a way that keeps things both exciting and stressful to watch.
Though its final act falters a bit in attempting to heighten the already high emotional stakes, 40 acres ends strongly, with a powerful reaffirmation of its central ideas. And as much as this subgenre is full of mediocre stories, 40 acres It feels like something really special.
40 acres It still has no distributor or theatrical release date.
