Indie film distribution and production company A24 continues to dominate the 2020s with another of its best films. Its newest to hit Paramount+ with Showtime, the underrated but easily top-tier Earth Mama, shows that gripping drama remains the luminous pull above the press of crowd-pleasers like Everything Everywhere All at Once. Like the pure drama of other essential A24 films like Aftersun, First Reformed, C’mon C’mon, and The Souvenir: Part II, Earth Mama is not the lightest film to watch but rewards those who level with its singularly entrancing vibes.
‘Earth Mama’ Plot Summary
Despite her best efforts to hold down a job and appear as a good mother, Gia has lost custody of her two young children and will likely lose her upcoming child as well. Though navigating support for herself seems next to impossible, she feels deeply determined to try and regain control of her life.
A24 and the Pursuit of Drama Perfection
While its production successes and marketing campaigns have made headlines with titles like The Whale and Midsommar, the significant early feat of A24 had just been picking up exceptional indie dramas from Room to its recent perfect selection, Aftersun. Since Moonlight, the company has also shown promise as a production studio. With its reputation established for trusting filmmakers with their uncompromising visions, its produced films often continue to display the artistic integrity that makes A24 an elite distributor for indie films.
Earth Mama comes from a debuting filmmaker, perfectly demonstrating the kind of talent A24 routinely invests in for maximum impact. Though the look of this movie has grit and texture, Savanah Leaf’s early mastery of the craft already exceeds most of A24’s filmography. This former Olympic athlete unexpectedly finds nuance, complexity, and genuine understanding in her central character, blending shocking fantasy elements in critical moments to symbolically illuminate the indescribable nature of pregnancy and motherhood.
Tia Nomore in ‘Earth Mama’
The Reckless Daring that Elevates Directorial Debuts
Like Earth Mama, A24 is home to numerous first-time filmmakers, including Ari Aster (Hereditary), Robert Eggers (The Witch), and Trey Edward Shults (Krisha). Quite a few of their films are near perfection, but often, the unbounded creativity that can confound viewers also makes them unparalleled. Earth Mama‘s grainy look and perplexing choices might lose a handful of folks, but others will pick up on a transcendent quality created by the lack of reining in on the writer/director’s work. In big studio films, a director or producer might wield too much power and shift a story into a display of indulgence, but A24 continually balances the line between excess and art.
With a moving debut performance showcase, Earth Mama captivates and devastates viewers with its demanding nature. Symbols and slow pacing muck up the more realistic elements of the film, but each choice brings the viewer closer to the absurdity of maternity in a way that instantly strikes one as both personal and universal. Earth Mama is a work of authenticity, the efforts of an auteur filmmaker who can translate the exact meaning of what she wants us to see in her characters. Fans of A24 may be the target for these types of films, but few would demean Leaf’s craftsmanship as anything other than essential, inventive, and enthralling.
Earth Mama is streaming now on Paramount+ with Showtime.