40 Acres

by Mike McGranaghan

Coming after the vastly underrated The Woman in the Yard, 40 Acres is the second movie this year in which Danielle Deadwyler plays a mother living in a remote country home and trying to protect her children from an outside threat. The films could not be more different otherwise, but the actress is excellent in both of them. Director/co-writer R.T. Thorne has made a politically aware thriller whose suspense comes in the subtext as much as it does on the surface.

The story is set in the near future, where the animal population has been killed off by a disease. As a result, farmland – where food can be grown – is a valuable commodity. Former soldier Hailey Freeman (Deadwyler) lives on a farm with her Native American partner Galen (Michael Greyeyes) and their children. They’re on alert because a group of cannibals is on the loose, taking over farms and feeding on the owners. Eldest son Emanuel (Kataem O’Connor) risks everybody’s safety when he attempts to help Dawn (Milcania Diaz-Rojas), a young woman he meets in the forest.

The title 40 Acres obviously refers to “40 acres and a mule,” the failed promise intended to boost Black economic self-sufficiency following the Civil War. It is surely no accident that Hailey is Black and the cannibals are white (and usually men). She wants to maintain her land and take care of her family; they want to take what is rightfully hers. The film doesn’t beat you over the head with a message, although it certainly assumes you’ll make the connection in your mind. Hundreds of years after slavery ended, there is still an effort in some quarters to hold the African-American community down. That idea infuses the plot with poignancy.

What the movie does more explicitly is create tension from Hailey’s desire to preserve the sanctity of her farm. Despite the presence of cannibals and a couple bloody sequences, the story doesn’t really qualify as horror. It isn’t a gorefest or a jump scare experience. Suspense is generated from a few scenes where the Freemans fight off intruders, but more frequently from Hailey’s efforts to determine whether Dawn is truly somebody in need of help or a cohort of the cannibals trying to take her property from the inside. Her suspicions lead to conflict with Emanuel, who is far more trusting. A heavy psychological component is at play here, which sucks you in.

Danielle Deadwyler gives yet another powerhouse performance, turning Hailey into a fierce warrior whose relentless drive comes from her love of family. Perhaps the finest compliment I could pay the actress is to say that, if this scenario was real, you’d totally want to be on her side. It’s a beautifully layered turn that mixes compassion and rage, determination and vulnerability. She guarantees viewers feel the entire weight the situation places on the character.

Aside from Hailey and Emanuel, the Freemans are a bit underdeveloped individually, as is a longtime family friend who ends up factoring significantly in the plot. Otherwise, 40 Acres is a smart, thoughtful, and skillfully made thriller whose themes benefit greatly from its lead actress’s onscreen ferocity.

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