East of Wall: An Endearing Story of Loss and Redemption

The old west was a place of wonder and possibility, where one could hop on a horse with little more than the clothes on their back and a few supplies and head out to find their destiny. The new West has lost this. Now a land of established farms and ranches, one might head there to find themselves, but decades of corporatization and rising costs of living mean, along with the mechanization and automation of the available work, times are tough for many who still live there.  

East of Wall tells the story of one family in South Dakota living through this reality. Tabatha Zimiga (playing herself) is a fixture in the South Dakota horse trade. She owns 3000 acres of land, has several children of her own plus several more living with her, and has an eye for horses unparalleled by anyone save maybe her eldest daughter, Porshia (also playing herself). Times aren’t easy, though; all that land and all those mouths to feed cost money, and the horse trade isn’t doing as well as it could since Tabatha’s husband died. Since his death, she has become more distant and refuses to ride a horse herself.

In the midst of all this arrives Roy Waters (McNairy), a wealthy rancher from Texas with an eye for business but not for horses, proposes to buy Tabatha’s land –and by extension, expertise- in order to break into the Dakota horse market. The story itself is not that unique, but its portrayal is endearing and heartbreaking.  The story in particular, of Tabatha and Porshia’s difficulty connecting through their grief is poignant and both heartbreaking and affirming.

Despite these first-time actors playing themselves, East of Wall blurs the lines of documentary and fiction.  On the one hand, it captures the beauty and majesty of the South Dakota countryside and the people who live there.  It gives an honest and authentic look at the financial drama that people in areas like this live through, and the strain that the promise of money can bring to a relationship when it means giving up something you love. On the other hand, it’s also a new narrative, that while based on events is not the events themselves, and has dramatic and thematic throughlines that resolve in an organic, but perhaps too neat and tidy way.  

As docu-fiction, it can lead one to wonder how honest it is, but the inclusion of Tabatha and Porshia Zimiga playing themselves lends the film an authenticity that it might otherwise lack. If there’s a downside to casting non-actors in a film like this, it’s that not every line read is going to be amazing, but Tabatha Zimiga is perfectly willing to put her whole self into the role with little ego to get in the way.  It’s not perfect, but it’s refreshingly unpretentious.  

Director Kate Beecroft (who spent years living with the Zimigas preparing this film) and cinematographer Austin Shelton have captured stunning vistas, galloping horses, and vulnerable character moments all with equal aplomb. Where the film falters is with its story, though just 98 minutes long, there almost isn’t enough there to sustain the runtime. The film is an honest telling of a straightforward story, but that story is also a little thin and doesn’t have that much to say about the resilience of the Zimigas and others still living their lifestyle.

Still, with veteran character actors like McNairy and Jennifer Ehle around for the Zimigas to work with and learn from, some of the most ruggedly beautiful scenery as a backdrop, and a clear love for the land and people both, East of Wall is still a lovely film. It offers audiences a unique glimpse into a world we once romanticized, letting us know that these people still exist and that both their problems and their victories are not so different than our own.

still courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

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Matthew Simpson

Matthew Simpson is a freelance pop culture writer and podcaster based in Vancouver, Canada.  He is a life long Star Trek fan, thinks there are few cinematic streaks on par with John McTiernans’s 1987 to 1990 run of Predator, Die Hard, and The Hunt for Red October.  He is also rather tall, which is unrelated to the movie thing.

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