A One Mann’s Movies review of “40 Acres” (2025, 4*, ’15’).
I’m not sure if there is a league table of “under-appreciated actors”, but if there isn’t then we should create one. And pretty near the top of that list for me would be Danielle Deadwyler. Although not appearing on cinema screens until 2017, she has consistently managed to impress me: from Jeymes Samuel’s black-western “The Harder They Fall“; through what should have been (imho) an Oscar-nominated performance in “Till“; through the decent action/adventure of “Carry On” to the spooky goings on in this year’s “The Woman in the Yard“; she absolutely delivers 100%. “40 Acres” actually pre-dates those last two films, having been completed in 2024 but is only now getting a release. But Deadwyler again is the core of the movie and delivers a mesmerising and powerful performance.
“40 Acres” is not a terribly easy watch. It has a grim dystopian (and very much pet-free) setting and it is at times brutal. But it is a very well constructed and tense horror/thriller.
Plot:
It’s “14 Years Later”. A catastrophic “fungal pandemic” has wiped out 98% of all of the world’s animal life leading to a subsequent civil war and famine due to the associated food shortages. Now farm land is everything, and the Freeman family fight to maintain their grip on their land in the face of invading groups of cannibals.
Certification:
UK: ’15’; US: R. (Although already released, the film does not yet have a formal BBFC rating. It will be at least a ’15’ certificate and – for reasons of violence – a borderline ’18’ in my view.)
Talent:
Starring: Danielle Deadwyler, Kataem O’Connor, Michael Greyeyes, Milcania Diaz-Rojas, Leenah Robinson, Jaeda LeBlanc, Haile Amare, Elizabeth Saunders.
Directed by: R.T. Thorne.
Written by: R.T. Thorne & Glenn Taylor. (From a story by R.T. Thorne & Lora Campbell.)
Running Time: 1h 53m.
Summary:
Positives:
- Great characters given interesting things to do in a well crafted dystopian world.
- Tense, brutal action when it comes.
- Danielle Deadwyler is superb.
- Some great cinematography and a thumping music score.
Negatives:
- It’s very reminiscent of quite a lot of other films (which I guess is inevitable).
- There’s a negative here I can’t put in the main review for reasons of spoilers.
Full Review of “40 Acres”:
A different world.
This is the first feature for Canadian music-video director (and co-writer) R.T. Thorne and it’s a strong start. We are pitched into a world devoid of animals (nicely counterpointed by all the animals mooing and baaing in the few flashback scenes). (When the father Galen (Michael Greyeyes) spots a pair of antlers through the undergrowth the response is “I must be dreaming”.) As such, horticulture is the means for survival, unless you fancy munching on a child. The land is thus fiercely protected. The Freeman’s 40 acres are surrounded by an electrified fence but is not invincible, so the basement is like an arsenal.
Modern life is all but over. Cellphones are only good for target practice now.
We are not alone.
The family are not alone but they are isolated. On the radio, family matriarch Hailey (Danielle Deadwyler) can hear chatter between the other farming communities in the area, called “the network”. Neighbours are often helping other neighbours out. But the Freeman’s are different. They keep themselves to themselves and never get involved. The only other person that Hailey relates to is another ex-marine, Augusta Taylor (Elizabeth Saunders), at a settlement across the river. This relationship is intriguingly explored by the script.
A really interesting family dynamic.
I hate films with two-dimensional characters that have no story-arc. That’s no issue here. The Freeman family immediately stands out due to the multi-racial relationship between Galen (Michael Greyeyes) – a Native American – and the spiky and no-nonsense Hailey. This is where Danielle Deadwyler really shines. It’s an awesome, mesmerising performance and might displace Jodie Comer as my favourite ‘female-lead-in-a-dystopian-2025-drama’. Hailey as a character also goes on an interesting journey through the course of the film.
Other than the mother/son dynamic between Hailey and Emanuel (Kataem O’Connor) it’s never fully clear whether their ‘children’ are their natural offspring, the results of previous relationships or ‘adopted’ following the civil war. As well as Emanuel, there is teenage sharp-shooter Raine (Leenah Robinson), the slightly younger Danis (Jaeda LeBlanc) and the much younger – (“What’s a jerk-off?”) – Cookie (Haile Amare).
But there’s real tension here. Hailey and Galen run the family like a military operation and Hailey in particular doesn’t come across as at all pleasant. It’s also clear that NOONE is welcome there – “all we need is RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW” retorts Hailey aggressively. New arrivals are likely to face a bullet rather than a welcome: it’s very much a “shoot first; ask questions later” operation.
But with Emanuel’s hormones raging – especially after he sees the beautiful Dawn (Milcania Diaz-Rojas – an actress who is genuinely gorgeous) bathing in the river – and with Raine’s biological clock also ticking, this insular life is a one-way street to sexual frustration and strife. Emanuel wants out. “This is your miserable life…”, he rages to his mum, “… not mine”.
No, not the zombie apocalypse.
I’m actually not sure that the film needed the ‘cannibal’ element: the battle for control of the land would have been enough for me. But it certainly adds a bit more tension to the action scenes. All of these are done really well, with bloody and messy dispatches, some of them quite brutal.
But as well as violence there is a subtle little love story going on between Emanuel and Dawn. This is beautifully captured by the cinematography of Jeremy Benning which uses colour and light to conjure the mood of growing love. Benning also utilises drones to great effect with some ‘land-locked’ shots turning out to be drone based.
Thumping score.
Another highlight for me was the score by the (unknown to me) Todor Kobakov. Some of the music – particularly during the ‘travelling’ scenes on bikes and jeeps – was great.
But it’s very reminiscent of many other films.
There are only so many variations of “dystopian future” and this film at times feels like most of them. There is more than a little “28 Years Later” going on here and the isolated and insular family reminded me strongly of “A Quiet Place“. The (very sexy) barn dance of Dawn almost feels stolen from that wonderful scene in “Witness”.
A spoiler criticism.
I have one other significant criticism of the film… but I can’t state it here due to it being ‘spoilery’. Please see the “Spoiler Section” below the trailer if you’ve seen the film.
Summary Thoughts on “40 Acres”
It’s a decent film that for me matched the apocalyptic vision of the recent “28 Years Later” (but with neither the zombies nor the dodgy Savile reference!) Above all, it’s yet another fantastic showcase of Danielle Deadwyler’s skills. Will somebody PLEASE give this lady an Oscar nomination!
“40 Acres” is now out in selected UK cinemas, but is also set for digital release from August 4th. Check the “Justwatch” widget below for where you can see it after that date.
Where to watch?
Trailer for “40 Acres”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9sloHiZvmg.
Spoiler Section:
Don’t read past this point if you’ve not seen the movie.
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NO, SERIOUSLY!
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The issue.
Where the script slips up is in protecting its core family from harm to too great a degree. Everyone, but everyone, survives to the end titles. It’s all rather too cutesy and Hollywood given how unexpectedly brutal the film has been to that point. While it is nice to see Hailey’s story arc, from paranoid marine to more relaxed family head, the film really needed a sacrifice to feel complete: if not Emanuel or Galen, then at least one of the three daughters.
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