Sarah's Oil

Just in the last 20 years, there have been seemingly more films based or inspired by true stories than that of pure fiction. Maybe it's because the old adage, "truth is stranger than fiction". The popularity of them has only increased hence we have yet another film inspired by a true story appropriately titled "Sarah's Oil". 

"Sarah's Oil" is inspired by the remarkable true story of Sarah Rector (Naya Desir-Johnson), an African-American girl born in Oklahoma Indian Territoryin the early 1900s, who believes there is oil beneath the barren land she's allotted and whose faith in God is proven right. As greedy oil sharks, such as Earl (Stelio Savante) and Devnan (Garret Dillahunt) close in, Sarah turns to her family, her mom Rose (Sonequa Martin-Green), her dad, Joe (Kenric Green), friends, Mace (Mel Rodriguez) and some Texas wildcatters such as Bert (Zachary Levi) to maintain control of her oil-rich land, eventually becoming among the nation's first female African-American millionaires-- at eleven years old.

Others to round out the cast are Bridget Regan as Kate, Adyan Copes as Junior, Selase Botchway as Mr. Pharr, Vic Trevino as Horace, Marco Fuller as Jimsye, Tom Ohmer as Judge Leahy, Fracaswell Hyman as Mr. Shep, Malea Mitchell as Gabby, Ryan O'Quinn as Eddie Caron, Robert Goodman as Wilcox and Jonathan Lipnicki as Chemist.

This was directed with soul yet grit about this young entrepreneur by Cyrus Nowrasteh ("Veiled Threat" '89, "The Island" '98, "The Day Reagan Was Shot" (TV movie) '01, "The Stoning of Soraya M." '08, "The Young Messiah" '16, "Infidel" '19) plus TV. By his very resume, this filmmaker has cornered the market on message type films and these films are important since they can teach us lessons that can potentially stay with us for some time. The pathos and incredible concern these characters have for their family and friends speaks volumes, especially in a society today where commitment toward other people is rare. His pacing, staging, conciseness and sequencing was spot on. It was written with passion and compassion by Betsy Giffen Nowrasteh ("Bad Day on the Block" '97, "The Stoning of Soraya M." '08, "The Young Messiah" '16) and Cyrus Nowrasteh ("Veiled Threat" '89, "The Interview" '95, "The Advocate's Devil" (TV movie) '97, "The Island" '98, "The Day Reagan Was Shot" (TV movie) '01, "10,000 Black Men Named George" (TV movie) '02, "The Stoning of Soraya M." '08, "The Young Messiah" '16, "Infidel" '19) plus TV, inspired by the book "Searching for Sarah Rector" by Tonya Bolden. Considering both these writers are passionate in their careers, we are the victors for it since the passion along with compassion is paramount in this particular film. The story was captivating as it was entertaining. I've never heard of the young actor who played Sarah, but she definitely has a future in acting, and Zachary Levi was amazing--one of the best roles he's played in a while. 

If you like films based or inspired on a true story, this will certainly be one not to miss. I like films based on 'famous' people, but I especially enjoy films based on people most of us have never heard of. Their stories can be as remarkable or more so than those based on more famous people. This is a must see. It shows us about entrepreneurship, family, business and corruption in the early years of our nation. 

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                         Rated: PG                                         103mins.