Michael Greyeyes, Leenah Robinson & R.T. Thorne Talk 40 ACRES

By Shannon McGrew

In 40 ACRES, after a plague eradicates all animal life, famine spreads across the globe, leaving society at war and in ruins. Still, the Freemans are surviving - even thriving - on their ancestral farm so long as they dispatch the occasional raiding party. But what good is surviving the end of the world if it means snuffing out your humanity?

Former soldier Hailey (Danielle Deadwyler) made that choice years ago, believing that isolation was the only way to protect her family. She and her partner, Galen (Michael Greyeyes), fled the collapse along with their children, fenced them off from the world, and trained them to fight (and yes, kill). But now Hailey’s eldest, Emanuel (Kataem O’Connor), is a young man. When he meets a young woman (Milcania Diaz-Rojas) in the forest beyond the fence, his need for human contact could place the whole family in jeopardy. 

For the release of 40 ACRES, Creepy Kingdom’s Shannon McGrew spoke with director and co-writer R.T. Thorne and actors Michael Greyeyes and Leenah Robinson. During their chat, they discussed everything from building believable family dynamics in a dystopian world to the deeper symbolism behind cannibalism and survival.

Thank you all for taking the time to speak with me today. At the heart of 40 ACRES is a family story. How did each of you approach grounding your characters in that emotional foundation, especially against such intense and horrifying circumstances?

Michael Greyeyes: I was blessed to be surrounded by actors who were so vulnerable and present. People like Leenah and Danielle, along with the rest of the cast, are exceptional. I care about characters in films that have context, that they have dreams, hopes, fears, or whatever - the nuances of how I connected with the children and with Danielle were everything to me. I think Galen’s approach to most things was through kindness and humor. That’s really how I tried to focus my work as an actor by building believable relationships within the family. 

Leenah Robinson: My approach to Raine and her role as not only a stepsister but a big sister, I come from a blended family, so that was easy for me to slip into that. However, what Michael said was about really building up these relationships and believing in them yourself. So many days on set, the younger girls, Jaeda LeBlanc and Haile Amare, and I would play while Michael, Danielle, and Kataem O’Connor were off doing adult things. The dynamic while filming was quite similar to the dynamic in the movie. That really helped build that foundation. 

R.T. Thorne: I’m very attracted to character-driven thrillers. I love stuff that has heightened circumstances, but it’s really about these specific people in this moment dealing with this stuff. Given that this is a family-driven project, I wanted the family dynamic to feel very natural and seamless. It was about creating these moments where you’ll see flashes of the family, even though there are cannibals running around outside. Dad is still going to get mad with these kids using this stale barbecue sauce; you know what I mean? [Laughs]. That’s still going to happen, so I just wanted to create many moments like that, where each of these characters' personalities and their little quirks still clash against each other in the midst of this madness.   

I’m glad you brought up cannibals because that’s a perfect segue into my next question. Cannibalism is often deeply symbolic of consumption and erasure, among other themes. How did the subject of cannibalism shape the visual look and the performances?

R.T. Thorne: In the story context, there’s no question as to this being a film that is about land and bodies. Both of these things are deeply connected to Black and Indigenous communities. It made a lot of sense to me that this family, who, historically, our communities have been through so much, would now, in the future, be the best equipped to survive in this world. They really are the ones that people are calling for help, and they can calmly deal with the situation. I really wanted this family to feel empowered like that. 

Leenah Robinson: I think having the cannibals kind of places you in this world in which everything’s been taken away from you, and you are forced to survive. Having cannibals is a further lack of humanity in a world that’s already so inhumane, but it also feels like for the family, this is just another Tuesday [Laughs]. It’s just like the cannibals are back again [Laughs].  I don’t want to say that the family is adapted to it, but it’s just like something we have to do, and we have to do it together, and we’re going to stick together through it. 

Michael Greyeyes: Life and death. We care about stories that have life and death, but with cannibalism, it’s not just, I hope they don’t kill me, it’s I hope I survive, I hope I live. Then there’s death. Death is just one step in their journey, right? They’re going to kill you, and then they’re going to take your body, and they're going to consume it. So to me, cannibalism is even more horrific than just the abstracted violence of bodies on the ground and people getting killed. It’s yet another thing that is being taken [from us]. There’s extra horror there.  

40 ACRES is now in theaters.