Original-Cin Q&A: 40 Acres' Director and Co-Star R.T. Thorne and Michael Greyeyes on Their Genre Journey

40 Acres marks the feature film debut of Toronto’s R.T. Thorne.  The film premiered at the Toronto International film festival last September, creating quite the buzz.

It stars Danielle Deadwyler and Michael Greyeyes, who will do anything to protect their family in the post-apocalypse. Surviving on an isolated farm after a series of plagues and wars, a former soldier and her family make one last stand against a vicious militia that wants to take their land.

Bonnie Laufer spoke with director R.T. Thorne and star Michael Greyeyes.

40 Acres opens July 4 across Canada.

Danielle Deadwyler and Michael Greyeyes try to get by as farmers in 40 Acres

O-C: The premise of the film was quite frightening, but it really did give me a sense of what one would do to survive and the importance of family. R.T. How did this idea originate?

R.T. THORNE: It  started about eight years ago. I'd been writing the script and really wanted to do something that was rooted in a family who had to navigate things. There's a lot of echoes of my mother and my relationship in the film. You can probably tell, although my mom's not a trained marine killing machine,

O-C: But is your mom a badass?

Director R.T. Thorne

THORNE: Oh, she's a badass, for sure and raised us in a very strict household. So there was that, that generational, universal generational, struggle, sort of to be out on your  own. So that was always there.

I think it was about paying tribute to some of the stuff that I learned from my mother. I'm a genre kid, and I love a good thriller.  The best thrillers are character driven, when you're  really invested in these people that you're following through the story. 

I wanted to do something about farmers and the idea of having a piece of land and when times get tough, what are you going to do to protect it?  That really came about when the pandemic brought that to the forefront, when we couldn't go to the grocery and get fresh fruit, I started thinking, man, do I even know how to grow food for my family if I had to ?

O-C:  I sure don't, I can tell you that!

THORNE: I learned that very quickly too. So it was pretty much about that, then it really solidified and what would you have to do if this infrastructure around it starts to crumble?

O-C:  Michael, your character is a real Papa Bear. This is a story we've not really seen before on film before, the blending of the Indigenous and the Black cultures. He has such a beautiful family that is as important to him as they are to each other. How important was it for you to be a part of something like this, and how did it speak to you on a personal level?

MICHAEL GREYEYES: From the moment I read the script, I wanted to be part of the project. I like to make movies that I like to watch and I'm a genre fan.

I've been very fortunate in my career to have played soldiers, to have been involved in films that deal with post-apocalyptic scenarios, and so this was right up my alley. But again, I've never read anything quite like it. I've never read about a family, a blended family, Afro, Indigenous family, like this is.

Our cultures have so many similarities and are sort of kept on these different tracks in terms of cinema and stories. They don't seem to cross over. But there's so many places where our experiences and our culture do cross over. So, when I read the script, I told my team, I need to do this.

O-C: How do you even start to get into this guy's head? Honestly, what he and his wife go through to save their family is extraordinary. I guess especially being a parent, when you're so desperate your adrenaline kicks in, and of course you'll do anything to save your family. It had me thinking about it and I don't think I could be such a badass as that.

THORNE: You probably could. Trust me you’d surprise yourself.

We get enraged about traffic, we get mad about a food order that doesn't come the way we wanted.

So it's interesting, in terms of our daily lives, how compassionate we can be about something and when you're talking about family and life and death I think it was easy to just say, we are a family. We have these relationships and connections and obligations, and when those are threatened there's no choice. You simply do what you have to do to protect.

O-C:  Bringing Danielle Deadwlyer onboard was a huge coup. How did you connect with her, and once onboard, how did she become an Executive Producer?  

THORNE: This was an important role for her, and we were very blessed to have her.  Everybody in the cast would say that Danielle was always the first person that I wanted for this role.

We connected through a friend, Patrick Somerville, who was a showrunner on Station Eleven. I had talked to him and I threw a Hail Mary (Pass) out. I said, “Look, man, I got this script, and I'm thinking about Danielle for the lead.” And he said, “She's always the right choice for anything.”

She got the material, and when she read it she jumped in. She told me that she felt very connected to the character and felt like she knew this woman. She also has a teenage son so I think that relationship, that struggle when you're trying to do the best for your family, is what connected her.

Raising a young man, when to let go, when to trust, was all relatable.  You struggle against your mom and the parental figures over what they want to do. So I think that she related to that.

She's incredible and can really do anything. She's instantly magnetic and  just thought she could be a badass. And she's the baddest ass badass in the film.

 O-C  Michael, I do want to ask you about working with Danielle and connecting with her. How important was the backstory of these characters and bringing that forward into your performances. How important was that?

GREYEYES: We connected immediately. Danielle and I come from theater, so we respected each other's training and background. Many times we were on set together, and she said, “Michael, you know, I'm so glad you're here, because I can rely on you.”

And here we are parent figures to these incredible hungry, inquisitive, curious actors, and they looked to us, so we were always on the ball.   Establishing that rapport, and the sort of rigor that she has about her craft and about work matched mine.

So, I think on a working level,   it was a match made in heaven. I think, in terms of our chemistry, she's magnetic, she's incredible to be on screen with.

Our backstories about having been in the military helped, but most importantly we were always on the same page. She's a wonderful friend, and it's inspiring to see someone who does such a wide variety of work and commits completely in scenes and to a character's journey. She's inspiring to watch.

 O-C: RT, what did you learn about yourself after making a movie like this?

THORNE: Oh, wow. I think I learned that when you make your first film and that it comes out in some semblance of the way that you imagined it, you learn something about yourself.

You learn that what you think and what you have to say matters and you can achieve that. 

I started in this business in the music video world. I've been in television world. But to come with a story from a part of my soul, and to put it out in the screen and for it to be what I wanted it to be, it's encouraging.

It gives you confidence to keep telling different stories and realizing that people want to hear different stories as well.