FILM REVIEWS:
EAST OF WALL (USA 2024) ***
Directed by Anne Beecroft
The complaint about the under-representation of women in films can be clearly discarded these days. In the area EAST OF WALL, (Wall is a town in Pennington County, South Dakota, United States; the population was 699 at the 2020 census), lives a family run by the strong female matriarch, which is where the story of this film comes from. The film is so-called as it is the location of the family ranch - the setting of the story.
Despite its small population, Wall is quite famous. Wall was named for the "natural wall" in rock formations by the Badlands National Park. The National Grasslands Visitor Center is also located in Wall.
EAST OF WALL can be described as a docu-fiction as it is an authentic portrait of
female resilience in the “New West,” inspired by those who live it. The film and story revolve around a tough, tattooed Tabatha Zimiga (Tabatha Zimiga plays herself), a rancher with an uncanny gift for taming wild horses. She and her teen daughter Porshia Zimiga (she also plays herself) are often at loggerheads with her mother. Porshia blames her mother for the loss of her stepfather,
Tabatha takes good care of her 3 children – Porshia, older son (played by family friend Wyatt Mansfield) and 3-year-old son (Stephen Neumann as himself) – plus a slew of teens (as themselves) who need somewhere to live. Tabatha has her hands full with humans to train beside the horses. Tabatha also hasn’t ridden a horse since his death. Instead, she coaches the teens who often perform tricks on horses while selling them at auctions or via TikTok. Even so, it is a financial struggle. Then along comes a wealthy businessman (Scoot McNairy) with a proposal to buy her 3,000 acres.
EAST OF WALL benefits from the raw emotions generated from the story of a family often at unease, but shares the common love for horses. The rodeo riding and horse stunts help in the film's authenticity and also create the proper atmosphere for a horse movie. The film is beautifully shot by cinematographer Austin Shaboozey. Despite the fact that most of the cast are non-professionals, a lot of them portray themselves, which makes their performances realistic.
Despite the realistic atmosphere and performances, one can hardly call the film enjoyable for the reason that it is never much fun to watch a family in struggle. The story occasionally falls into clichéd territory, as one can expect Tabatha to be fighting with the ranch’s buyer over her loss of control of the ranch. The film’s cop-out happy ending that includes Tabatha having her way with the ranch and the dolled-up reconciliation between mother and daughter are also a bit hard to take.
Director Beecroft and cinematographer Shelton spent three years living with the family, absorbing their daily life before shooting the film. Their efforts clearly show on screen.
EAST OF WALL has made its debut at various international film festivals and opens August 15 across Canada, including Toronto at the TIFF Lightbox.
Trailer:
