by Scott Batchelor, Contributing Writer
40 Acres drops us in a brutal, post-apocalyptic world where farmland is the most valuable commodity left. The opening text describes how we got to this point in the last 14 years of lost resources and civil wars. There, we learn quickly what type of family we are following. The Freemans are not your typical farm family who has never had to fight for their 40 acres of land. They are hardened warriors who have planned for exactly what to do if trespassers try to take over. The opening action makes this very clear, as they dispatch attackers with ruthless precision. There is even a post-beatdown debrief on what could have been done better by family leader and Mother, Hailey (Danielle Deadwyler)
We are introduced to our blended family, led by Hailey and her husband Galen (Michael Greyeyes), but they treat the farm more like a military outpost. Every one of their four kids is working on the farm, while also training in both hand-to-hand combat and weapons. Their targets being cell phones, which give the audience a clue as to how far gone we are. However, everyone working well together does not inherently mean that there is not strife within the family.
Hailey faces the most conflict from her older son, Manny (Kataem O’Connor), who seems to differ on how they should navigate the world. Manny wishes to meet others (especially women his age), along with expanding and making connections. Hailey has seen all too much of what happens when you trust the wrong people, and would very much like to see nobody over step in fear of putting what she has worked on in danger. Family is the most important thing to her, and she dares not even help other farms in fear of putting her kin at risk.
Hailey spends her down time listening to CB radios. We hear about struggling farms and missing tools, and from desperate survivors willing to trade anything they can offer. Without long-winded exposition dumps, the movie paints a picture of a world where holding onto your land is a fight for survival each day. It is impressive that within 20 minutes, you know exactly the world you are in, who your heroes are, and what they stand for. It’s rare for a film to trust its audience this much without explaining every little detail, and it works.
Everything comes to a head when Dawn (Milcania Diaz‑Rojas), a woman Manny has been eyeing, comes to the farm begging for help. Manny of course wants to believe everything she has to say, but Hailey would much rather shoot first and ask questions later. The movie does a great job making the viewer unsure how to feel about Dawn. She is charming in all the right ways, but that’s exactly how danger lures you in. You’re caught between wanting Manny to be happy and wanting him to stay safe, because trusting her feels like flipping a coin with their lives on the line. The arguments that follow are authentic, especially after a violent encounter on another farm leaves one of the family wounded.
While the first 10 minutes promise nonstop brutal action, most of the film leans on character building until the third act, when our antagonist cannibals make their big move. At times, I wanted more of the gritty action that started off our story, but I can’t fault how much time we got to spend with the Freemans. Our big bads aren’t fleshed out much, but it doesn’t feel like the movie is about them much anyway. Instead, it’s more about family bonds, and what it takes to protect each other, along with listening to the needs of the individual.
By the end, I found myself more attached to the Freemans than I expected. A majority of the beginning of the third act sees our family separated, and I didn’t realize how anxious I was during that. I saw what they can do as a unit, so separating them makes them more vulnerable, and in turn does a good job of making me fear for each one of them. I genuinely believed that anyone could be taken out at any time. This movie works better as a family drama than as an action movie, but both parts hit right.
Rating: Liked It
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