The smell of the saddle comes drifting out, enveloping the viewer in the sights and sounds of a peaceful horse ranch in South Dakota. And then the movie begins
East of Wall
The film opens Friday, August 15, only in movie theaters, via Sony Pictures Classics. Visit the official site for locations and showtimes.
In many ways a prototypical Sundance Film Festival selection, where it debuted earlier this year, East of Wall first makes an impression with its authentic atmosphere. It feels like a lived-in Western that the filmmakers captured, unfolding in something that resembles real time, and populated by a cast of mostly unfamiliar faces.
The relaxed atmosphere, as horses run free, their riders becoming one with the wild animals as they hug them closely, is intoxicating, even as director Kate Beecroft shows that the truth lies somewhere between a myth and a TikTok video.
Tabatha Zimiga, playing a variation of herself, owns the ranch and makes use of videos as a promotional tool, helping her to sell the horses that she trains, all in order to pay for the expenses of running the ranch, as well as the teenagers who she has allowed/invited to live with her, her boyfriend, their young child, and Tabatha's sister Porshia.
It's an unruly bunch of young people, with parental units who have abandoned them or are not in a position to care for them in their own homes. They are rebellious, and their hearts are inclined against authority of any sort, yet they recognize that Tabatha's ranch may be their last chance to achieve any kind of happiness. The film is filled to overflowing with the poignance of desperation, mixed with glimmers of hope and opportunity. Maybe, just maybe, things will work out?
A successful rancher from Fort Worth, Texas, Roy Waters (Scoot McNairy) arrives on the scene. Immediately, he is keen to buy the ranch and offer financial security to Tabatha, telling her that she'll be able to run things her own way. Is it time to sell out?
With an abundance of lovely indie flavor and achingly beautiful South Dakota landscapes, East of Wall is a fine film that often feels like a documentary, filled as it is with non-professional actors in their first roles. Oddly enough, it's the appearance of Jennifer Ehle, as Tabatha's mother, and Scott McNairy that remind one that this movie is actually a fictional narrative.
It's not that Ehle and McNairy are slick or Hollywood or anything like that; it's just that they are total pros who underplay their roles to better match the first-timers that inadvertently draw attention to themselves. Yet that doesn't take anything away from the rugged authenticity that makes East of Wall a must-see for anyone who's ever loved watching horses run free, in whatever form they take.