...Thorne has consciously set out to flip the script of the kind of old-fashioned Western,...staging grisly action sequences with unapologetic verve while still leaving us scope to take the story seriously as allegory.

Deadwyler’s performance is the driving force here. Without her, the audience’s attention might drift to the predictability of a plotline that hinges on Manny’s adolescent rebellion against his mum.

More important, the characters never quite come to life and neither does the movie, stuck as it is between Hailey’s hard eyes and some pro forma action-y standoffs.

It works in some parts, others it doesn’t. 40 Acres doesn’t spare the violence, but also leaves no place for a dull moment to pass by.