Final Rating: 3.5/5
40 Acres is a post-apocalyptic thriller starring Danielle Deadwyler as matriarch Hailey Freeman, a descendant of African-American slaves who escaped across the border into Canada generations prior. After returning from a recent war, she and her indigenous partner Galen, played by Michael Greyeyes, attempt to raise a family in a brutal, uncertain world. R.T. Throne, who directed the film and wrote it alongside Glenn Taylor based on a story co-written by Thorne and Lora Campbell, focuses almost entirely on the family, insulating the audience alongside them for most of the film, allowing the particulars of this alternate history, or rather, near-future, to fall away.
The film in general is fairly economical, often folding exposition and characterization into the plot itself. Even the title, 40 Acres, which refers to an ultimately rescinded promise by General Sherman during the American Civil War to give freed slaves forty acres and a mule, frames the story for the audience before they even sit down to watch. Still, the film finds itself at somewhat of a disadvantage without more explicit world-building.
Post-apocalyptic films are easy to come by these days, with the past decade spawning a new cohort of doomsayers across the political spectrum. While a lot of speculative, near-future films gesture to long-standing, systemic racial discrimination as sources for societal unrest both before and after collapse (see: Snowpiercer (2013), Children of Men (2006), V for Vendetta (2005), Mickey 17 (2025), etc.), 40 Acres digs into the subject more substantively.
By centering a Black and Indigenous family, the conversation surrounding community, cultural preservation, and basic survival take on new meaning, intertwining with identity politics and modern social justice movements. Grappling with these complex themes complicates the simple survival narrative, breathing new life into a familiar story, while acting as a potent allegory for Black and Indigenous North American families who have endured a state of danger and precarity for the last 500 years or so.
Within this previously underexplored context, the film walks a well-trodden path. Anyone familiar with post-apocalyptic media will be able to predict most of the story. Very little seems to transcend expectations, and despite glances of Black and Indigenous cultures, the audience is rarely brought up to speed.
For example, The Proletarian’s Pocketbook is mentioned as part of their homeschooling curriculum, but none of the quotes which comprise it are ever mentioned nor explored by the characters reading it. Ultimately, the Freemans don’t behave any differently from white men who have preceded them in the genre. Certainly, this may be the point of the film: desperation and fear leads to insulation and strict control; this is just human nature in times of insecurity. Practically speaking, this makes the film feel rote.
While several of the performances are stellar, including Deadwyler, Greyeyes, and Elizabeth Saunders, other performances were lacking. Some supporting roles lacked depth and interiority, both of which are crucial in a film which is so focused on its characters. It is possible that stronger performances may have been able to make up for this, but it is not the case here. Scenes which were not anchored by Deadwyler or Greyeyes clearly suffered for it.
Ultimately, as an ensemble, they pull it off, and they are believable as a family. Small but potent moments of domesticity feel real and relatable, grounding the film.Despite a lack of experimentation within the form, 40 Acres is still an enjoyable thriller punctuated by flashes of gruesome horror and touching moments of human connection. It is bound to move audiences and connect to people who have been, until now, left on the periphery of the subgenre. Anyone who considers themselves a fan of austere survival genre films should definitely give this one a chance.
Thank you to Mongrel Media and Star PR for the screener.
