As long as Danielle Deadwyler had to wait to star in an action movie like “40 Acres,” it takes far less time for the heroine of “Till” to show the full scope of her power. Given the kind of introduction usually reserved for the likes of Clint Eastwood or Bruce Willis, where the camera pans behind her, only to reveal her face after she’s stabbed an intruder on her property, it’s a different story when such power is presented to a black woman, and while RT Thorne’s dynamic thriller has some familiar tropes, it’s also full of new ideas.
Set in a dystopian future where animal populations were wiped out 14 years ago by a fungal pandemic, 40 Acres presents a new world order: farmers who can grow their own crops survive while others struggle to survive after a civil war that erupted following the collapse of the food chain wipes out much of the population. Hayley Freeman, who plays her in Deadwyler, knows how to fight this battle on two fronts, having taken over the farm that has been in her family’s hands since the Reconstruction era after spending time away on active military duty.
Hayley runs the household like a commanding officer would his students, except she mixes book reports with boxing drills and firearms training. When she’s not out saving the world, she’s building a world where her family can live in peace. Instead of traversing a wasteland, the characters are busy keeping the farm green—a strategy that sets 40 Acres apart from many of its post-apocalyptic brethren.
In times like these, if you have a farm, it’s best to keep it to yourself. Hayley keeps in touch with a network of fellow farmers only via CB radio. The lack of socialization suits her just fine, but it’s less appreciated by her children, especially her teenage son Emmanuel (Katim O’Connor) and stepdaughter Ryan (Lena Robinson), who at their age might be restless even if they weren’t in a constant lockdown. Although ragtag militias are reported to be ambushing the farms, this external threat produces less fear of opposition from within after the family, including Hayley’s partner Galen (Michael Grayeyes), dispatches such a group during the film’s opening minutes.
A real-life conflict arises when Emanuel takes in a stray dog named Don (Melicania Diaz Rojas), who arrives injured outside the gates of the family farm and hides from his mother while trying to nurse her back to health. Yet co-writers Thorne and Glenn Taylor find added strength in Emanuel’s independence. Watching her grow into an independent person away from his overprotective mother touches on a broader generational divide, informed by centuries of contentious race relations. While Hayley’s experience supports closing doors to the outside world, Emanuel can see how doing so would limit the future. He simply doesn’t carry the same baggage, and the erosion of trust that guides Hayley’s every move begins to find its way into her relationship with her son.
Thanks to her memorable supporting roles in “The Harder They Fall” and the HBO series “Watchmen,” Deadwyler has had the opportunity to show off her ability to wield weapons beyond slinging daggers with her eyes. Still, in full action mode, the combination of her heft and physical prowess is downright intimidating. Thorne also shows killer instincts in his directorial debut. Early in the third act, he knew that cutting Hayley off from another character’s big emotional monologue would elicit laughs. Likewise, staging a big action sequence with only the flash of gunfire is an interesting way to change things up. “40 Acres” may draw on a lot of past history to establish it, but it shows that there are benefits to not being completely subservient to it.
