September 21, 2022 – Religion, racism and rifles are factors in this dark drama about a conflict between a grieving homeowner and a couple of trespassers in rural Montana. While the end result of this slow cooker of a conflict is not surprising, there are a lot of plot twists along the way.

The first tragedy in this modern Western story is the less-than-urgent state and federal response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. I remember being devastated at the sight of bodies laying unattended in the streets of a great American city, and thinking that this is the beginning of the end of America itself.

The main character of this drama, Sandra Guidry (played by Thandiwe Newton, the artist formerly known as Thandie Newton, of “Mission Impossible 2”) is a former New Orleans police officer who quit the force in disgust over the response to Hurricane Katrina. She moved, with her mother, to Montana, and got a college teaching job. The cremation of Sandra's mother, and the burial of her ashes opens the film.

Sandra explains to Wolf (played by Jeremy Bobb of “The Kitchen”) a local sheriff's deputy, why she left her home town, New Orleans. She said her mother thought that “God would protect them.” God didn't protect them, and unarmed black civilians were shot by police. Blockades were set up by police to prevent hundreds of blacks from fleeing the floodwaters on foot. The federal and state response to the hurricane's devastation was, in a word, inadequate. Sandra's mother was devastated by all this, and never recovered.

Soon after Sandra's mother died, a couple of hunters, Nathan (Joris Jarsky of “The Little Things”) and Samuel (Jefferson White of “The Twilight Zone”) trespass on her property. She leaves them a note on their vehicle that she doesn't want them parking on her land, but they repeatedly return anyway. She contacts the local Sheriff's department, and discovers that Wolf, the acting sheriff, is the only person available to respond to her complaint. Wolf advises her to handle the situation herself, and that involving law enforcement will only make matters worse.

Sandra tows the hunter's pickup truck the next time she finds it on her property. The hunters respond by shooting an arrow at her house at night. Things get worse as Sandra finds out that Nathan and Samuel are part of a group involved with a recent fatal shooting. The local Sheriff (now on administrative leave) killed a member of their group in the shooting. When Wolf confronts the group at a local tree farm, it almost results in a gun fight, but Sandra is able to de-escalate the situation.

Sandra realizes the danger she is in, but her blood is up and she won't back down. Later, she discovers that her boss, Arthur (Kai Lennox of “Green Room”) is friendly with the same hunters who have been harassing her. He's also been sexually harassing one of his teaching assistants. Arthur and his colleagues at college also renege on an agreement to consider minority faculty candidates in their next departmental hire. To Sandra, it appears that justice is reserved for those with white skin, and hers is a bit too dark.

Sandra directly confronts Nathan and Samuel in surprisingly forceful ways. From the dynamic of these encounters, it is clear that there is more than just racism at work. The fact that she is a woman colors all of her encounters with the local power structures, from the college, to law enforcement. She is up against a kind of good-old-boys network that is determined to put her in her place, but she will only back down so far.

I've seen a lot of these kinds of movies about slow-simmering conflicts. This one doesn't follow the usual pattern, there are some twists and turns in it, like the meeting between Sandra and Nathan at a local church. We learn that there are some similarities between Nathan and Sandra. Nathan is not simply a bad guy. His character is well fleshed out. The same could be said for Wolf, the acting Sheriff who is attracted to Sandra, but seems unable or unwilling to help her in any meaningful way.

Excellent performances by Newton, Jarsky, White, Bobb and Lennox power this dark drama. Director Julian Higgins and cinematographer Andrew Wheeler impressively demonstrate their ability to tell this story in largely visual terms. There is no dialog at all for the first 10 minutes of the movie, and during other important scenes in the film as well.

This movie is a lot more than a localized conflict between a woman and two hunters. It is a cautionary tale about a society where certain people do not respect others, but at the same time insist on privileges and respect as a birthright which they have not actually earned. That is the root of this drama. It is also the root of forces that are tearing this country apart. This film rates a B.

It seems to me that there are a lot of places around the U.S. that are called “God's Country.” One thing they all have in common is that most of the people who live there just happen to have white skin. That may have something to do with the title of this movie.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff (no extra charges apply). I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2022 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

Robert Roten can be reached via e-mail at