It is a year zero future post-apocalyptic world, and the food is scarce. Here lives a surviving black family of Canadian farmers descended from American Civil War migrants. They resolutely defend their isolated farm against wars, plagues and cannibals. Now, a vicious militia is trying to seize their land and resources.
The main protagonist is a former soldier, Hailey Freeman. Played with gusto by Danielle Deadwyler, it is a strong performance. The supporting characters are also pretty well developed. With the survival of her family being paramount, there is domesticity in the dystopia. There are also elements of the cyberpunk and the decimated. In survival, the brutal slaying of the enemy has to leave no room for guilt or regret.
40 Acres is a possible or probable parable of self-made social Armageddon. Allusions can also be drawn to Covid-19, continuing environmental catastrophe, and the nuclear threat. Intense action sequences, along with themes of family, resilience and the human condition draw our attention. Comparisons also abound with the 28 series of films, not least the recent third installment 28 Years Later, with its post-apocalyptic coming-of-age horror.
Director R.T. Thorne’s previous work was in music videos and television. However, the lack of seamlessness in the transition to filmmaking conspicuously shows here. The production values of 40 Acres seem embedded in television rather than the big screen. The film’s chapter-based storytelling and frequent use of flashbacks often makes its pacing uneven. Also, while the main supporting characters are well-developed, some supporting characters lack depth and complexity.
As for the story and script, the story is pretty unoriginal, the dialogue often poor. It also utilizes familiar post-apocalyptic sound bites, thus detracting from any originality. This lets down otherwise good performances. Without knowledge of budget, it’s not known how much film development there was. Therefore, compromises may have had to be made. Also, there were later reports of some of the crew not being paid. This was later found to be the case with location employees and vendors. Only a year after the film’s production had this been resolved.
At its best 40 Acres is a sometimes engaging film with well-developed characters. A groundbreaking or original film it is not, but it does have some intense action scenes. Further noteworthy praise is for the director’s ability to blend genres. The film combines’ historical drama, family drama, and post-apocalyptic thriller. Also having a black director with a black cast brings an independent solidity to the production. Otherwise, this is a pretty unmemorable film more befit of Netflix or Amazon than the cinema.
~ By Steven Yates
Steven Yates is a British Film Critic and Journalist. He has been based in Berlin since 2008 and attends the Berlinale (Berlin International Film Festival) annually. He is also a member of FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics).