40 Acres (2025) Movie Review & Summary

Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.

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“40 Acres” Film Details

• Runtime: 1 Hour(s) and 53 Minutes
• Seen Via: Early Screening

• Released On: In Theaters
• Public Release Date: July 2, 2025
• Director(s): R.T. Thorne
• Writer(s): R.T. Thorne, Glenn Taylor
• Based On Work By: R.T. Thorne, Lora Campbell
• Primary Language: English
• Genre(s): Action, Drama, Thriller
• Rating: Rated R
• Distributor: Magnolia Pictures

Summary

In an undisclosed year in the future, the government has seemingly fallen due to religious zealots, and Hailey Freeman (Danielle Deadwyler) and her family live predominantly isolated from the rest of the world on their family farm. Hailey does have a friend in Augusta (Elizabeth Saunders), a fellow veteran, with Hailey being in the army and Augusta a marine, but even with Augusta, there is a connection, but outside of some banter and trade, there isn’t much in the way of socializing.

Enter the outside threat coming upon their farms, and Hailey doubling down on her isolationism, frustrating Augusta and making it so that when Augusta is radio silent, this becomes worrisome. What doesn’t help is Hailey’s eldest, Emanuel (Kataem O’Connor), bringing a girl named Dawn (Milcania Diaz-Rojas) to the farm, her claiming to be Augusta’s niece, and add in all the graphic deaths in the area, and it makes the already on edge, and stern Hailey, more willing to shoot first and ask questions later.

But, with a husband, four kids, and a farm on her mind, you can’t blame her for worrying about her son, who hasn’t much experience with girls his age, potentially becoming the weakest link when one pops up and has the potential to kill or set up everyone.

What To Expect In “40 Acres” (Rated R) – Content Overview

• Dialog:
  • Cursing: Throughout
• Violence:
  • Gun Violence: Full On Battles
  • Violence Against Animals or Children: Yes | Children (Teen)
  • Gore/ Blood/ Body Horror: Bleeding, Depiction of Open Wounds, Notable Disfigurement
  • Notable Violence: Torture, Intense Fight Scenes, Cannibalism
• Sexual Content:
  • Sexual Situations: Implied
• Miscellaneous:
  • Drug Use: Recreational
  • Jump Scares: Sporadic
  • How Emotional: It Might Get You Emotional

Links

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Review and Commentary

Highlight(s)

Galen Being Sweetgrass First Nation [83/100]

While there is a certain level of responsibility for audience members to seek out different stories featuring underrepresented cultures, it is also nice when you don’t have to go to a major city, comb through a streaming platform, or pay a notable amount of money at a film festival to get diversity. Such is the case with 40 Acres when it comes to Hailey’s husband, Galen (Michael Greyeyes). He is a Sweetgrass First Nation man, and having it where he isn’t just naming his nation, but communicating with his daughters through their language, establishing he grew up and knows his culture, it honestly compensates for what Sinners didn’t have.

Mind you, what also makes Galen such a welcome addition is he is not only a bad ass, but also an excellent husband and father. We’ll go into that a bit more in the next topic, but I don’t think anyone can ever underestimate the power it is to see positive male role models, especially in action movies, since they are usually the most accessible and have long been what establishes how masculinity looks like, for a generation.

Hailey’s Relationships [88/100]

Hailey is a complicated character who, similar to Dawn in Forever, isn’t made to be this perfect, always lovable mother. She is her own person first, and a mother is but one of the many titles she has taken on, alongside being a soldier, a wife, a step-mom, and more. This leads to her having relationships that are sometimes less than ideal and are imperfect.

Take with Emanuel. At one time, she put her work over him, and while Galen and Augusta’s people did watch over him, by the time he was old enough to realize he wasn’t like the people who were his guardians, Hailey showed up. You can see, even with Emanuel being a grown man now, this still haunts their relationship. Especially since she has high expectations regarding him showing up and stepping up, when he could easily say that, as a mother, she hadn’t done the same for him.

Then, with Augusta, let it be clear, 40 Acres doesn’t really touch on the fabled promise of former slaves being given 40 acres and a mule. It may trigger that, but it isn’t strongly about racism, slavery, and all that. However, Hailey is culturally Black and acknowledges the government, when it had some level of power and influence, didn’t treat people who looked like her or Emanuel fairly, and even as a veteran, whose training has allowed her to survive, there is a bitterness there about how much she gave to the country while knowing she wouldn’t get as much back in return.

Yet, while Augusta is a White woman, and says and does things which you can tell bug Hailey to a point, there is also this camaraderie between them. Be it because being veterans trumps race, or Hailey genuinely likes having someone outside of her family to talk to, and who can handle their own, and isn’t asking her for anything. I’d even say, as things go from manageable to bad, and Hailey starts to worry that something happened to Augusta, it could make you emotional.

Now, let it be clear: Hailey has a softness to her, and there are many moments when Galen is home, you see her snuggle up to him and not be on edge, and him take the need for her to exert her masculinity away. However, there is something special about her relationship with Augusta that I think, given that they are both maternal figures, veterans, and share so much with one another, potentially losing the person who truly understands her has a whole different meaning.

The Question Of Who Can And Cannot Be Trusted [84/100]

Where the thriller element is the most strong in 40 Acres is the question of who can be trusted. While Hailey isolating her family has presented a tax on her kids, especially as they reach the age of wanting friends, and potentially to date, at the same time, she has seen things in life, the military, and the post-apocalyptic world which has made it so, sticking your neck out could mean it being chopped off. Emanuel perhaps knows this the best out of anyone, considering what he witnessed.

So when it comes to Dawn, there is this need to question, is this a beautiful girl sent to set up Emanuel – the main one who leaves the property? Could her saying she is Augusta’s niece be something they got out of Augusta, or someone on her farm, to lower everyone’s guard down? Hailey has a reputation, but would she harm a young woman? Never mind a young Black woman?

All these factors that come into play force you to take note of why Hailey operates as she does, and tries to have her children operate the same. It’s not because of paranoia based on one incident, but things consistently seen and done that makes it so, as much as Hailey may love Augusta, and maybe Augusta has a lot of friends and people on and off her farm worth knowing, to be known is to great a risk considering what desperate or tortured people can do.

On The Fence

The Worldbuilding/ Backstory Is Minimal [74/100]

With 40 Acres being focused mainly on the Freeman farm, the woods, and the Augusta farm, we don’t really see much of what’s going on in the outside world. There are no cities in the distant, reminding you of something out of The Handmaid’s Tale or The Last of Us, the only idea of what is going on out there offered is what is head on Hailey’s radio and the occasional line about what life is or was, and the government’s diminished presence.

For some, this could cause issues for with Hailey and Augusta being soldiers, what they fought against, why, and more information on the who, could be something you’d want or need. Granted, the threat in the movie is more than enough not to dwell on this. However, it could bug you that this random group, with a leader who doesn’t have much of a presence, seems like a bunch of random folks who are only a few generations removed from starring in The Hills Have Eyes.

Overall

Our Rating (82/100): Positive (Worth Seeing)

40 Acres furthers the belief that Danielle Deadwyler will go beyond being the next Viola Davis, and truly earn her own pedestal as she continues to not only show herself excel in action oriented roles, but also bring a sense of humanity, that at one time would be unfathomable, not only for an actress, but a unambiguous Black actress.

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