‘40 Acres’ receives 8.5 out of 10 stars.Opening in theaters on July 2nd is ‘40 Acres’, which sees a family battling to survive in a post-apocalyptic Canada where roving bands of raiders threaten their precious farm land.
‘40 Acres’ receives 8.5 out of 10 stars.Opening in theaters on July 2nd is ‘40 Acres’, which sees a family battling to survive in a post-apocalyptic Canada where roving bands of raiders threaten their precious farm land.
Danielle Deadwyler in ’40 Acres’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
‘40 Acres’ receives 8.5 out of 10 stars.
Opening in theaters on July 2nd is ‘40 Acres’, which sees a family battling to survive in a post-apocalyptic Canada where roving bands of raiders threaten their precious farm land.
Directed by R.T. Thorne (‘Kung Fu’), the movie stars Danielle Deadwyler (‘The Harder They Fall’), Michael Greyeyes (‘1923’), Kataem O’Connor (‘Time Cut’) and Milcania Diaz-Rojas (‘Share’).
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Initial Thoughts
(L to R) Kataem O’Connor and Michael Greyeyes in ’40 Acres’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
If you were surprised to learn that the movie ‘40 Acres’ exists, you’re probably not alone –– it was seemingly pushed into theaters in limited release against the hugely-promoted ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ following a festival run.
Yet despite seemingly appearing with little fanfare, R.T. Thorne’s movie proves to be an unexpected treat; a tense, impressively shot and acted thriller that follows some familiar narrative paths but does so with imagination and emotion.
Script and Direction
R. T. Thorne, director of ’40 Acres’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
Randall Thorne has mostly worked in TV on the likes of ‘Kung Fu’, ‘Utopia Falls’ and ‘The Porter’. He’s also been honing his cinematic skills via short films and now brings them fully to bear on ‘40 Acres’, which proves to be an impressive debut.
Writing the script with Glenn Taylor from a story he created alongside Lora Campbell, Thorne here wades into the sort of post-apocalyptic themes that have been well used by many titles in the past, not the least of which are ‘The Walking Dead’ and ‘The Last of Us’ on TV.
What makes ‘40 Acres’ truly work is that Thorne and his co-writer didn’t skimp on building solid characters to populate this story. Hailey Freeman and her small but mighty brood are a winning combination of intensely focused survivors and loving family unit.
Danielle Deadwyler in ’40 Acres’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
The focus might be on the likes of Danielle Deadwyler’s Hailey and Kataem O’Connor’s Emanuel to drive the plot, the others aren’t simply ciphers.
And while the threats to the family are by their very nature more loosely sketched, there is enough about them and the wider community that the Freemans interact with to make the world come alive (even as people are dying all over the place).
Thorne’s directorial efforts here are well-used, as he’s made a stylish, effective thriller that doesn’t pull its punches (or shots) and posits a real threat to the Freemans from a new group of roving cannibals who are taking down farm after farm.
The action is also above par –– thanks to a committed cast and stunt team, the set-pieces feel narratively suitable rather than just thrown in for good measure.
Cast and Performances
(L to R) Danielle Deadwyler, Michael Greyeyes, Kataem O’Connor, Haile Amare and Jaeda LeBlanc in ’40 Acres’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
Danielle Deadwyler has brought her particular brand of intensity to movies including ‘Carry On’, and perhaps even more fittingly, this year’s ‘The Woman in the Yard’ where she also had to defend a rural home from a lurking threat (albeit a more supernatural one in that film’s case).
Hailey Freeman is a great fit for her –– the former soldier who brings her military training to her entire family and who will do anything to defend them brings out the best in an actor who knows how to seethe and plan without ever seeming one-dimensional. The role also gives her the chance to showcase an emotional side when dealing with her partner and the kids.
Michael Greyeyes in ’40 Acres’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
Michael Greyeyes matches her as Galen, the Native American fellow veteran who fell for Hailey and now shares the burden of keeping their family safe. He’s warm and witty when needed, but like his other half, a badass when the moment calls for it.
Kataem O’Connor’s Manny is perhaps the character who falls most into typical narrative traps as a young man pushing at the boundaries of restricted life, and who puts the group at risk because he wants to experience more. But even he’s a well-drawn character, with O’Connor giving him more than the usual sulky older teen mood.
Milcania Diaz-Rojas as Dawn, the unexpected new focus of Manny’s attention is also good, a tough yet sensitive fellow survivor who goes beyond the basic idea of a love interest where other movies stumble.
Final Thoughts
Danielle Deadwyler in ’40 Acres’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
Given how well it turned out, ‘40 Acres’ deserved much more attention upon release, and will hopefully be something of a sleeper success, even if it finds its audience on streaming or elsewhere.
Those who enjoy a well-crafted story of man’s inhumanity to man when the chips are down (and the crops are dying) should certainly track this one down.
What’s the story of ‘40 Acres’?
After a plague eradicates all animal life, famine spreads across the globe leaving society at war and in ruins, but the Freemans are surviving — even thriving — on their ancestral farm so long as they dispatch the occasional raiding party. But what good is surviving the end of the world if it means snuffing out your own humanity?
Former soldier Hailey (Danielle Deadwyler) made that choice years ago, believing that isolation was the only way to protect her family. She and her partner Galen (Michael Greyeyes) fled the collapse along with their children, fenced them off from the world and trained them to fight.
But now Hailey’s eldest Emanuel (Kataem O’Connor) is a young man, and when he meets a young woman (Milcania Diaz-Rojas) in the forest beyond the fence, his need for human contact could place the whole family in jeopardy.
Who is in the cast of ‘40 Acres’?
Danielle Deadwyler as Hailey FreemanKataem O’Connor as EmanuelMichael Greyeyes as GalenMilcania Diaz-Rojas as DawnLeenah Robinson as RaineJaeda LeBlanc as DanisElizabeth Saunders as Augusta Taylor
’40 Acres’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
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