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PORTSIDE CULTURE

‘40 ACRES’ REVIEW: DANIELLE DEADWYLER LEADS WITH STRENGTH IN
SUBVERSIVE SIEGE THRILLER  
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Stephen Saito
September 15, 2024
Variety
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_ As a survivor of multiple civil wars, including one brewing in her
own home, the 'Till' star shows all her muscles in R.T. Thorne’s
socially conscious action movie. _

, Courtesy of Toronto Film Festival

 

For as long as Danielle Deadwyler
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the lead in an action film like “40 Acres
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“Till” star to demonstrate the full range of her strengths. Given
the kind of introduction usually reserved for the likes of Clint
Eastwood or Bruce Willis as a camera runs up her back, only to reveal
her face after plunging a knife into an intruder on her property, it
just hits differently when a Black woman is presented with such power,
and though R.T. Thorne [[link removed]]’s
dynamic siege thriller has some familiar moves, it is full of fresh
ideas.

Set in a dystopian future where the animal population has been wiped
out 14 years earlier because of a fungal pandemic, “40 Acres”
shows a new world order: Farmers who can produce their own crops hold
their own while others shuffle along for survival after a civil war
that broke out in the wake of the food-chain breakdown exterminated
much of the population. Deadwyler’s Hailey Freeman knows how to
fight this particular battle on two fronts, having taken stewardship
of the farm that’s been under her family’s control since the
Reconstruction era, after spending some time away from it in active
military service.

Hailey runs the household like a commanding officer would oversee her
cadets, except she mixes in book reports with boxing practice and
firearms training. When not out trying to save the world, she’s
building one where her own family can reside in peace. Instead of
traversing a wasteland, the characters have their hands full keeping
the farm verdant — a strategy that sets “40 Acres” apart from
so much of its post-apocalyptic brethren.

In such times, if you have a homestead, it’s best to keep that to
yourself. Hailey remains in touch with only a network of fellow
farmers over CB radio. The lack of socializing suits her just fine,
but is less appreciated by her kids, particularly her teenage son
Emmanuel (Kataem O’Connor) and stepdaughter Raine (Leenah Robinson),
who would be restless at their age even if they weren’t in a
constant state of lockdown. Although ragtag militias have been
reported to ambush farms, that outside threat produces less fear than
dissent from within after the family, including Hailey‘s partner
Galen (Michael Greyeyes), dispatches such a group within the film’s
opening minutes.

A tried-and-true conflict emerges when Emmanuel takes in a stray named
Dawn (Milcania Diaz-Rojas), who arrives wounded outside the gates of
the family farm and remains hidden from his mother as he tries to
nurse her back to health. However, co-writers Thorne and Glenn Taylor
find an additional gear in Emmanuel’s independence. Watching him
grow into his own person apart from his overprotective mother touches
on a broader generational divide, informed by centuries of contentious
race relations. While Hailey’s experience suports closing the doors
to the outside world, Emmanuel can see how doing so would limit the
future. He simply isn’t carrying the same baggage, and the erosion
of trust that guides Hailey’s every move starts to find its way into
her relationship with her son.

With memorable supporting parts in “The Harder They Fall” and the
HBO series “Watchmen,” Deadwyler has had opportunities to show
she can wield weapons beyond her ability to shoot daggers with her
eyes. In full-fledged action mode, however, the combination of her
gravitas and physical prowess are mightily intimidating. Thorne also
shows killer instincts in his first feature as a director. At the
start of the third act, he knows that having Hailey cut short another
character’s big emotional monologue will get a big laugh. Likewise,
staging one of the big action sequences with only the light of gunfire
is an exciting way to shake things up. “40 Acres” may draw on
plenty of past history for its foundation, but it shows there are
benefits in not being entirely beholden to it.

 

‘40 Acres’ Review: Danielle Deadwyler Leads With Strength in
Subversive Siege Thriller

Reviewed at the Toronto Film Festival, September 7, 2024. (Special
Presentations) Running time: 113 MIN.

* PRODUCTION: (Canada) A Hungry Eyes Media Production with 4T
Productions Inc. in association with Fela and Backhome. (World sales
outside of Canada: Visit Films). Producer: Jennifer Holness. Executive
producers: Taj Critchlow, R.T. Thorne, Danielle Deadwyler, Sudz
Sutherland, John Lang, Mark Gingras, Andrew Frank.
* CREW: Director: R.T. Thorne. Screenwriters: Thorne, Glenn Taylor.
Camera: Jeremy Benning. Editors: Dev Singh, Sandy Pereira. Music:
Todor Kobakov.
* WITH: Danielle Deadwyler, Kataem O’Connor, Michael Greyeyes,
Milcania Diaz-Rojas, Leenah Robinson, Jaeda LeBlanc, Haile Amare,
Elizabeth Saunders, Tyrone Benskin (English, Cree)

* 40 acres
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* dystopias
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* civil wars
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* ecological disaster
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