This review was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the film being covered here wouldn’t exist.“Why should we care if you make it?,” a disembodied voice says to a woman at the beginning of Earth Mama. The woman states it doesn’t matter what other people think, it’s her struggle, and only she can know the path she’s walked. Even if someone is by her side the entire time, they still won’t know the world through her eyes. This is the argument writer-director Savanah Leaf (based on the short film The Heart Still Hums by Taylor Russell) adeptly makes in Earth Mama, a heartbreaking struggle of a film that shows us no matter how much we know about someone, there are certain elements about a person’s journey that ensure we can never know the full truth about what they’ve been through.

What Is ‘Earth Mama’ About?
Image via A24

Leaf presents this discussion through Gia (an excellent Tia Nomore), who is a pregnant single mother that is attempting to get her two children out of foster care. Gia only gets fifteen hours a week at the photo studio she works at, her situation living with her sister isn’t great, and every time she makes a phone call, we hear the dwindling balance of her account, often down to pennies. Yet Gia is determined to get her kids back, as she also tries to figure out how she’s going to handle the third on the way. Gia is usually fairly quiet, but through her day-to-day, Leaf starts to reveal essential details about Gia, without her outright telling us. A small aside, or the details of a meeting Gia goes to gives us a slight hint of who she is, but again, we can’t ever know all the details of what brought someone to where they are.

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For her case workers and those she meets in her mandated sessions, Gia is probably little more than a few facts on a piece of paper, and Leaf shows us how easily a person could be disseminated down to their worst flaws and mistakes. But Leaf also shows us the understandable and difficult scenarios that lead to such choices being made, and while we may not fully understand why these decisions are made, Leaf ensures that we sympathize with Gia’s journey.

Tia Momore’s Performance Is the Beating Heart of ‘Earth Mama’
Image via A24

Nomore’s silent but impactful performance is essential to Earth Mama’s success, as she fights every day, trying to get her kids back, but also to just make it through another day despite the obstacles in her way. In one telling moment, Gia relaxes at home watching TV, and at first stops on a nature show about a spider protecting its children, but soon, Gia changes the channel to a much more apt show/metaphor for her life, as she turns on a program about massive, strong trees that have withstood countless years and difficulties, only to remain standing proud and tall. We can’t know what these trees have had to withstand, yet we can see the beauty and majesty in their resilience.

While there are certainly major moments that test just how solid Gia truly is, such as when she gets a call from her son asking when he and his sister can come home, or when she meets a lovely family, led by Bokeem Woodbine and Sharon Duncan-Brewster, who would love to adopt her upcoming baby, it’s in the quiet moments that Nomore’s performance and Leaf’s story overwhelm. In one incredibly touching scene, we watch Gia during one of her weekly, hour-long, chaperoned visits with her kids, as she watches them practice reading stories they’ve written to her. Despite all her issues, nothing else matters at that moment, and her kids can see the deep love that she has for them. Her son lovingly looks at her proudly as he finishes his story about a trip their family took to the beach, and when Gia’s daughter struggles to sound out her words, Gia demonstrates a patience and care that shows, regardless of what else she does in her life, she is truly a great mother. We also see just how tender Gia is with her customers, as she helps them capture beautiful moments that they’ll treasure forever—even if they are in a fairly dingy photo studio.

Savanah Leaf Explores the Larger Impacts of Problematic Systems
Image via A24

In Earth Mama, Leaf also explores the cyclical nature of a system that expects failure, and how these system’s issues can be felt years later. A few times throughout the film, Leaf captures interviews with people in Gia’s life, who discuss the difficulties they’ve had in their lives, and occasionally, how the foster system’s impact still hurts them as adults. While there are people in place trying to help Gia get her life in order, they offer little assistance other than the right paperwork or fears of home inspections. As characters mention, people have tried to take everything away from people like Gia, who have to fight for everything they have. For those workers helping Gia, it may seem like cut-and-dry solutions to problems, to Gia, these are insurmountable odds—especially without many people in her corner.

Leaf films Gia’s life in a way that is both comforting and disconcerting. The soft purples and greens give a warmth and maternal feel to the story, but the occasionally grainy camera reminds us that things aren’t as beautiful as they might seem. Yet there’s always a beauty to Leaf’s direction, and a deep, deep love for Gia and people like Gia. Leaf shoots Nomore affectionately, always catching a slight smile on Gia’s face, or showcasing her pregnant belly like Leaf herself is proud of Gia’s accomplishments so far, even when others worry about her well-being. From the way that Leaf films Gia, to the mostly quiet screenplay that allows Gia to tell her own story through her actions, it’s clear that Leaf feels the same way about Gia that Gia feels about her own children.

At one point, Gia discusses her dreams that didn’t come true, and while the person she’s talking with promises there’s still time, Gia knows that her experiences have taken her too far away from this dream. But this isn’t a bad thing for Gia, rather, her dreams have changed as she’s realized the importance of her children and her desperation to get them back. Life has shifted her priorities—and that’s okay—and Gia has stood strong and faced these changes beautifully. In Earth Mama, Savanah Leaf gives us a towering reminder of the women who gave their all for us, their determination and power, the difficulties of staying afloat when you feel like you’re drowning, and how we can’t truly know what other people are struggling with, no matter how hard we try.

Rating: B+

The Big Picture

Earth Mama is a film that highlights the importance of understanding and empathizing with people’s personal struggles, as we can never know the full truth of what someone has been through. Tia Nomore delivers a powerful and silent performance as Gia, a determined single mother fighting to get her kids back, showcasing the strength and resilience of motherhood. Savanah Leaf’s direction captures the cyclical nature of problematic systems, exploring the impact of these systems on individuals like Gia and the fight they face to overcome them, ultimately reminding us of the power of determination and the importance of supporting one another.

Earth Mama is now playing in select cities.