Review
EARTH MAMA – Review
Sundance break-out EARTH MAMA spotlights to struggles of a pregnant Black young woman who is trying to regain custody of her two children from foster care, in a quiet, moving indie drama by former Olympic athlete turned writer/director Savanah Leaf. Set and shot in the San Francisco Bay area, this impressive feature film debut for the British-born, under-30 writer/director has garnered awards and promising buzz. Unlike other similar dramas, EARTH MOTHER has a remarkable realism and touching cliche-free drama along with a surprising artistry.
Gia (Tia Nomore) is in drug treatment for a drug addiction that led to her two children being placed in foster. The young single mother has a part-time job with a mall photographer and attends the mandated parenting and other classes yet never seems to quite get on top of all the things required to regain custody. She is frustrated and worried because the clock is ticking on her being able to get her kids back, just as it is ticking on the arrival of her new baby, due in a few weeks.
Gia’s love of her son and daughter is plain to see, when she has her supervised visits, and she is gentle with both her clingy son (Ca’Ron Jaden Coleman), who wants to go with her, and her angry daughter (Amber Ramsey), who resists even looking at her mother.
Outside, Gia lives a life on the edge, with a precarious living situation and very little help from family and no father for the kids in the picture. We follow the heavily-pregnant Gia as she goes through her days, meeting with caseworkers, going to work, attending classes and struggling to make ends meet. From time to time, she relaxes with friends Trina (Doechii) or Monica (Sharon Duncan-Brewster). What emotional support she finds comes from her friends, who have their own messy lives and issues, but mostly she is just coping day-to-day.
Writer/director Leaf cast non-professional actors for her feature debut, adapted from a short film she made with Taylor Russell, and starring popular Bay-area rapper Tia Nomore. While this is Leaf’s first feature, she grew up with a mother who was an animator and set decorator on animated films such as WALL-E, BABE: PIG IN THE CITY and RED. At 97 minutes, Leaf’s drama is as efficient as it is is moving.
A palpable feeling of realism, and a real individual. sets EARTH MAMA apart from any number of dramas about struggling impoverished young Black mothers caught up in the foster care system. Gia is not a flawless person – she makes mistakes, screws up, loses her temper, and sometimes her own worst enemy, but it is always clear she loves her two children and is truly determined to get them back. And Gia’s flaws are not cute little, easily forgivable ones, even though they are humanly understandable, but her determination to keep trying and her love for her kids are her most admirable traits, leading us to care about her.
Likewise, the people who either help and frustrate Gia in achieving her goal of regaining custody are not two-dimensional cliches either, neither angels nor demons, just people trying to help but not always succeeding. Gia faces false assumptions about herself, as well as overcoming her own pride and immaturity, and making her way in a landscape where survival is a daily struggle.
The description above might make this sounds like a grim film but it really isn’t despite its real world grittiness. In a way, EARTH MAMA is a coming-of-age film, where Gia, in her mid-20s, has to find a way to grow up and take control of her destiny, and be the mother she wants to be for her kids. We do see the many challenges Gia faces but we also see her determination to regain her kids, and there is a more hopeful turn later in the film. This affecting drama’s incredible realism is aided by the fine lead performance by Tia Nomore and Leaf’s sure direction and thoughtful, well-researched script.
The title might suggests someone living close to nature but Gia lives in an urban landscape where nature feels absent. The only hint of nature is in her dreams, where her inner life is revealed as she escapes to a peaceful world, and we see her surrounded by quiet forests or tranquil beaches, dressed in soft fabrics, sometimes with her bare pregnant belly displayed. These beautifully-shot, dream-like sequences show the hidden side of Gia hidden, as she grapples with her hard life. Dream-like sequences featuring close-ups of a cooing infant effectively transmit motherly feeling.
While all the characters are presented as fully rounded, good or bad, the flaws in the foster care system and the obstacles it creates for Gia are plain to see. At one point, Gia is pressed by her caseworker to work more hours, causing the young woman to angrily explode, saying she can’t take more hours because she has to go to so many required classes. She is also being required to fill out forms but given little guidance or assistance doing that. Gia’s pride gets in the way too, refusing to ask the caseworker for help.
As Gia’s due date approaches, a social worker more attuned to what Gia is experiencing, Miss Carmen (Erika Alexander) approaches her with the idea of adoption. Gia initially rejects it, even angrily, but as her situation becomes more precarious and the chance grows that her newborn will go straight to foster care, she reconsiders. Gia wrestles with the idea, meets a potential adoptive family, a Black family she selected, but continues to be ambivalent and indecisive. Her dilemma creates a tension in the drama, which culminates in a emotional scene with one of her best friends.
At one of her parenting classes, which Gia initially rejects the idea, even angrily. As her situation becomes more precarious, and the chance grows that the foster care system will take her newborn, she returns to that idea, with open adoption on the table, but still remains conflicted.
Tia Nomore gives a strong performance as Gia in her first acting role, projecting an appealing quietness and a sense she is holding things in and holding it together. Nomore’s steady, open gaze directly into the camera helps us connect with and care about Gia.
Leaf drew on her personal life as the older sibling to an adopted younger sister but the film is not autobiographical The director has said that she means the film as “an ode to mothers,” and she succeeds well in that. With this strong debut film, we look forward to more good films from both director Savanah Leaf and star Tia Nomore.
EARTH MAMA opens Friday, July 28, in select theaters for a limited run.
RATING: 3.5 out of 5 stars
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