East of Wall

After the death of her husband, a rebellious horse trainer named Tabatha wrestles with financial insecurity and unresolved grief, all while providing refuge for a group of wayward teenagers on her broken-down ranch.

Now, that's an engaging premise that does make for a compelling drama in its own right. But, what's more interesting about East of Wall, is that it actually tells the story of real people.

Meaning that, much like the award winning feature Nomadland, this movie stars a bunch of non-actors who are simply playing versions of themselves. Which was surprising for me to learn, especially given how strong the performances really are.

Tabatha Zimiga, for example, does an excellent job of leading this film. Her presence grounded this semi-biographical film with plenty of raw and genuine emotions. So, while I'm not sure if she would ever want to star in other projects, I would gladly watch whatever else she may appear in.

Scoot McNairy and Jennifer Ehle are also great at playing a couple of memorable supporting characters - which makes sense, since they are the only two traditional actors featured in this film. Unfortunately, though the rest of the "cast" is also quite good, I personally think that there are way too many characters in this film.

Trying to keep track of each person, and trying to figure out everyone's relationship to one another, is quite an exhausting endeavor. Even if these characters are all based on real people, that doesn't change the fact that the film has a distractingly large cast.

By featuring such a surprisingly large cast, the story doesn't have time to develop each and every one of the characters. So, while Tabatha's daughter Porshia gets a lot of time to feel fully fleshed out, plenty of other characters don't get the same treatment.

Granted, the characters do allow the movie to tell an interesting story about the complexities of family life, but I think that story could've been told more effectively with less characters. Especially since the story could've been developed a bit more too. Because, as it stands now, the story doesn't really build towards a natural conclusion; it just kind of stops. And the lack of forward momentum does give the film an incredibly slow pace. Meaning that, despite being under two hours in length, the movie does admittedly drag a bit.

Thankfully, this film is also beautifully shot. So, while I do have some issues with the script and with pacing, I can't deny that this is a gorgeous movie to look at. And the beautiful aesthetics reinforce how wonderfully human and soulful the story actually is.

So, director Kate Beecroft made a compelling little drama. One that depicts the resilience of families living in the "New" West. It may not be a perfect movie, but the fact that's inspired by the lives of real people does make it feel a bit special.