This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.
In director Savanah Leaf’s feature directorial debut, the opening sequence tells audiences everything they need to know. An unnamed pregnant black woman stands alone and is asked the question: “Why should we care that you make it?”
Without hesitation, she responds with a painful but resounding truth that serves as the main thesis for the entire film: she doesn’t care if anybody else does. Nobody will ever be able to quite understand, the crumbling weight of a world and system never caring to hear her out long enough. “The only one that can walk with these shoes is me. It’s simple.” It’s a pivotal moment the viewer never forgets: not just throughout the 100-minute runtime, but long after.
Produced by A24 and adapted from the 2020 short film The Heart Still Hums, Earth Mama tells the story of Gia (Tia Nomore), a struggling pregnant single mother navigating the foster care system in the early 2000s. As she fights for her two children to come home and contemplates different options for her incoming baby, Gia also finds connection and a sense of belonging with the Bay Area community that surrounds her.
As an exploration of motherhood, the childcare foster system and resilience in the face of defeat, Earth Mama carries definitive staying power — especially during its quietest moments. Leaf’s film is a carefully crafted, tender genuine drama, completely committing to Gia’s perspective as she tackles a system designed to keep Black women like her down. It’s the kind of true independent drama that is always in tune with its protagonist, even if the underwritten screenplay stiffens some of the emotional impact of the characters and storylines that come and go in Gia’s life.
Behind the camera, Leaf shows considerable control over her craft. While the filmmaking doesn’t often call attention to itself, allowing moments in Gia’s life to simply flow without interruption, there are two long tracking shots that stand out. One occurs in a crucial scene where Gia is walking by herself in a park and makes a difficult decision.
Cinematographer Jody Lee Lipes (who previously worked on Manchester by the Sea and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood) keeps a close-up of her face as she walks through an endless crowd of kids and families laughing in the background. Gia bends down to an unattended stroller and steals a pack of diapers before speed walking away, adults beginning to yell at her off in the distance. Through all of this, the camera dolly stays with Gia’s expression the entire time, never moving away for even a second. It’s the kind of emphatic framing device that reflects the heart of the entire film: a mother’s love, and what she is willing to do for her kids. No judgment passed toward her, simply observation. The audience stays with Gia no matter what.
None of this, of course, would be possible without the incredible lead performance given by rapper-turned-actor Tia Nomore, who commands the complex role of Gia with a natural screen presence. She plays a wide range of emotions — regret, love, shame, strength, humility — all with restrained courage. There are also some solid supporting performances that deserve to be recognized. Most notably, Doechii (another rapper turned actor) stars as Trina, Gia’s initial support system that falls apart after Trina finds out that Gia is considering putting her baby up for adoption.
Kelsey Lu’s score, while often downplayed and easy to overlook, deserves to be recognized. It has a searing emotional undercurrent, ebbing and flowing with the natural everyday progression of the film’s portrait of life while also bringing crucial magic to the few key moments Gia gets to spend with her kids.
This is an impressive debut film, although it’s not without some of the issues that come with many first films. Leaf’s subtle direction is a marvel to behold in many scenes, but as a whole, the film often loses focus and doesn’t fully develop the relationships Gia forms in her life. The audience gets glimpses into parts of Gia’s life, such as working at her job as a photographer’s assistant, but not enough to truly make the observational direction hit home. But by the time the film arrives at its profound ending, Leaf brings the emotions home and ties back to the root of Gia’s love as a mother. A love that carries through, binds through all concepts of time and space, forever.
While A24’s marketing push behind Earth Mama hasn’t been as big as it should be, the fact that this story is being told matters. Having a recognizable producer like A24 behind it after its Sundance premiere matters in getting word-of-mouth buzzing. Alongside A Thousand and One — another emotionally compelling Sundance drama that explores motherhood and the foster care system — there’s growing hope for new filmmakers to get their voices heard. There’s no doubt about it: Savanah Leaf is an exciting director here to stay.
Earth Mama is currently playing in select theaters courtesy of A24.
As an exploration of motherhood, the childcare foster system and resilience in the face of defeat, Earth Mama carries definitive staying power — especially during its quietest moments.
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GVN Rating 7.5
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Dedicated writer, film critic and journalist with a passion for all things film and television. A current rising senior at Ithaca College pursuing a degree in Writing for Film, Television and Emerging Media with minors in Integrated Marketing Communications and Writing. In addition to recently joining the Geek Vibes Nation team, Matt also currently writes for The Rolling Tape, The Ithacan and Buzzsaw Magazine, with past bylines in Film Updates and Cinema Solace.