A grieving college professor gets into an escalating conflict with hunters who continually trespass on her remote property. God's Country is a slow-burn thriller loaded with emotional and racial subtext. Based on the short film and story, "Winter's Light" by James Lee Burke, tensions are stoked like an ember that roars into a raging fire. The protagonist gets thorough exposition, but the supporting characters are essentially one-note. This leads to a dichotomy of gender, race, and background that paints the antagonists with the same brush. It's a notable flaw in an otherwise absorbing narrative.

Sandra Guidry (Thandiwe Newton) watches solemnly as her mother's cremated. She buries the ashes near their home in a sprawling Montana canyon. Sandra notices a red pickup truck on her property. She leaves a note that they're on private land and trespassing. Sandra returns to her job teaching public speaking at the local university. She rolls her eyes as Arthur (Kai Lennox), the dean of her department, wishes a happy retirement to a long-tenured colleague.

The hunters park in the same spot the next day. Sandra confronts brothers Nathan (Joris Jarsky) and Samuel (Jefferson White). They claim to have not seen her note. Sandra takes more drastic action against their vehicle when they intrude again. A thud that night finds an arrow shot into her front door. Sandra calls law enforcement to report the incident. Gus (Jeremy Bob) isn't helpful when she comes along to interrogate the brothers. Sandra's warned that he's the only deputy covering hundreds of miles. She decides to follow the brothers when they start using Arthur's adjacent land.

Sandra is a Complex Character

GodsCountryThandiwe
IFC

Sandra is a complex character in turmoil. She's bereaved, regretful, and increasingly threatened by the local men. Arthur's search for a replacement teacher mirrors her issues with the hunters. The film gradually reveals how and why Sandra ended up in Montana. Her pristine escape from a hated life has become tainted by interactions with the willfully ignorant. Newton is sublime as a woman struggling to handle the unexpected crisis. She's in a bad situation with nowhere to turn. Her resolve manifests into boiling anger when her home and work life merge into the same problem.

Julian Higgins, who also wrote and directed the short film, adapts the bigger story with a keen cinematic eye. He illuminates Sandra's background while setting the current stage. Higgins cuts away to storm and flooding imagery that holds dual meaning. Sandra's past and present collide as violence predictably brews. She won't back down, be marginalized, or disrespected. The peaceful serenity of snow-covered mountains turns inherently dangerous. Sandra's the outlier in a rugged place with people who view her as a troublemaker.

God's Country makes a critical mistake by lumping Arthur and the hunters together. They're the entitled, sexist, and intolerant white men affronted by a strong black woman. I don't mind the callousness or arrogance. These people exist and are usually unrepentant about their insulting behavior; but Higgins needed more depth and a modicum of character differentiation. The male supporting ensemble are too easily portrayed as the stereotypical good old boys.

God's Country is a production of Cold Iron Pictures and The Film Arcade. It will have a theatrical release on September 16th from IFC Films.