For as long as Danielle Deadwyler has had to wait to take the lead in an action film like “40 Acres,” it takes far less time for the “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’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)
