After the death of her husband, Tabatha- a young, tattooed, rebellious horse trainer- wrestles with financial insecurity and unresolved grief while providing refuge for a group of wayward teenagers on her broken-down ranch in the Badlands.
Chuck says:
It pains me to be less-than-enthusiastic about Kate Beecroft’s “East of Wall,” a well-intentioned indie that does many things right. Using only two professional actors in its cast and shooting in the most unadorned spots around the Badlands, there’s an authenticity to the film that does it credit, making it stand out amidst the CGI-laden productions and studio produced fare that clutter the multiplex. And while the mise en scene Beecroft employs and the verisimilitude she creates are commendable, in the end her script seriously falters in the third act, suddenly turning a brisk exercise into a chore to sit through.
In an effort to increase the authenticity of the story, every actor, except two, is referred to by their real name. After the death of her husband, Tabitha Zimiga finds herself in over her head. Their ranch, where they train horses, has become a Dickensian home on the High Plains, teen orphans and misfits having been taken in by the kindly rancher. Among them is his own daughter Porshia, whose anger over her father’s death is directed at her mother. The young woman is an expert rider, her ability helping to sell the horses after Tabitha posts videos of her riding on Tik Tok.
Still, with many mouths to feed and a vast ranch to maintain, they aren’t making ends meet. Enter Roy Waters (Scoot McNairy), a Texas businessman who recognizes the Zimigas’ talent where training and presenting horses are concerned. He offers to buy their property, allowing them to continue to live there, as well as employing them, knowing this will allow him to expand his livestock empire. It’s an offer too good to be true, something Tabitha’s mother Tracey (Jennifer Ehle) warns her about.
The film finds its footing once Waters moves to the ranch on a trial basis. His methods of training horses run counter to Tabitha’s more natural approach, while the overt attention he gives Porshia becomes questionable, though a revelation regarding his past ultimately sheds some light on this.
Utilizing a handheld camera and natural lighting throughout, Beecroft’s fly-on-the-wall approach creates a sense of intimacy that’s arresting. This, coupled with the unadorned performances from the majority of the cast, makes for a unique film-going experience, a movie that uses documentary conventions in telling its fictionalized tale. The result is an, at times, uncomfortably authentic piece of storytelling.
While this is commendable, and certainly engaging, the plot grinds to a halt at the one-hour mark. Beecroft abandons her narrative throughline to concentrate on the trials of the West’s modern women. While her intentions are sound, this sidetracks the story in such a way that it never recovers. In the end, her effort to tie everything up in a nice pink bow feels rushed while some glaring plot holes emerge that are hard to ignore.
There are quite a few undeveloped plotlines that would have provided ripe narrative fruit. Each of the eight teens on the ranch have their own tragic stories that could have been developed. While we get some background on one of them regarding custody issues, the rest are intriguing ciphers who we long to come to know. A great deal of sympathy could have been generated by focusing on them, leading to a further examination of the economic trials those in this region are currently facing. To be sure, those issues are alluded to, but these scant mentions leave us wanting more.
If you’ve ever traveled west, “East of Wall,” will satisfy any longing you may have for the region and likely will have you making plans to return. In the end, it could be argued that Beecroft becomes a victim of her own success. Her directorial instincts are on point, as she brilliantly captures a visually raw, bracing snapshot of regional history. Unfortunately, her script isn’t as sharp as her eye, the result being a captivating feature debut from a filmmaker I look forward to seeing develop fully.
2 1/2 Stars
