--- title: "Earth Mama: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/earth-mama/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/earth-mama" critics_score: 81 critics_reviews: 15 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Earth Mama (2023): what the critics said Critics' score 81 from 15 reviews: 13 positive, 2 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics respond warmly to Earth Mama, with praise clustering around Tia Nomore’s restrained, expressive performance as Gia. The reviews repeatedly credit Savanah Leaf with treating her central character generously and avoiding easy judgements about motherhood and the welfare system. Closeups, quiet details and images of the natural world draw particular notice for conveying Gia’s inner life. Several critics also find warmth and solidarity in material that could have made for an unrelievedly bleak drama. The differences are mostly about how fully that approach works, rather than a divide over the film’s worth. IndieWire finds the final act less assured, while Film Stories argues that the detached style can make Gia harder to connect with. Paste questions the treatment of motherhood as an innate biological desire, despite its otherwise enthusiastic response. Reservations remain limited across a broadly positive set of reviews, with no outright negative verdicts. ## Sight and Sound — BFI Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 16 October 2023. The critic calls the film an astonishingly accomplished, nuanced take on a difficult social issue. They particularly praise Tia Nomore’s understated performance and the film’s compassionate visual approach. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/earth-mama-intimate-piercing-debut-feature) ## The New Yorker — Richard Brody Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 13 July 2023. Brody praises the film as an accomplished, deeply affecting work that restores the closeup’s central place in cinema. He especially singles out Tia Nomore’s expressive performance and Leaf’s closeups, which convey Gia’s inner life with striking intensity. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/earth-mama-reinvigorates-the-closeup-the-beating-heart-of-the-cinema) ## Slant Magazine — Gregory Nussen Rating 3.5/4. 30 June 2023. Nussen finds the film warm and resilient despite its bleak subject matter. He praises the solidarity among the Black women and Tia Nomore’s vulnerable performance. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/earth-mama-review-savanah-leaf/) ## Los Angeles Times — Justin Chang Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 13 July 2023. Chang finds the film deeply affecting, compassionate and impressively assured. He particularly praises Tia Nomore’s expressive, restrained performance and the filmmakers’ ability to convey Gia’s longing through images and quiet details. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-07-13/earth-mama-review-a24-savanah-leaf-tia-nomore) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 6 December 2023. Bradshaw finds the film a deeply felt, piercingly emotional drama that resists easy answers. He particularly praises Tia Nomore’s natural, dignified performance as Gia. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/dec/06/earth-mama-review-a-piercingly-emotional-portrait-of-motherhood-in-difficult-times) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Lovia Gyarkye Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 21 January 2023. Festival review. Gyarkye finds the film a delicate, affecting portrait that treats Gia with generosity and resists easy judgment. She singles out Leaf’s intimate, nurturing approach to Gia’s inner life and the natural world. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/earth-mama-review-savanah-leaf-1235305948/) ## IndieWire — Ryan Lattanzio Rating B+. 20 January 2023. Festival review. Lattanzio calls the film a tremendously moving triumph that largely avoids the clichés of welfare-system dramas, though its final act loses some footing. He especially praises Tia Nomore’s naturalistic performance and the film’s docu-realist power. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/earth-mama-review-a24-savanah-leaf-1234800998/) ## Little White Lies — David Jenkins Rating 3/4/4. 7 December 2023. Jenkins calls the film must-see filmmaking and praises Leaf as a fully formed new talent. He singles out the film’s sublime craft and dreamlike tranquility amid its vital, difficult subject matter. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/earth-mama) ## Time Out — Nila Varman Rating 4/5. 7 December 2023. The review presents the film as a deeply human, piercingly intimate drama. It praises its honest portrayal of single motherhood and the welfare system. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/earth-mama-2023) ## Variety — Peter Debruge Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 20 January 2023. Debruge finds the film a tough, sensitive, and nuanced portrait that avoids easy answers. He especially praises Tia Nomore’s compelling, restrained performance as Gia. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2023/film/reviews/earth-mama-review-savanah-leaf-1235496166/) ## Screen Daily — Tim Grierson Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 20 January 2023. Festival review. Grierson presents the feature debut as sensitive, suggesting a cautiously positive verdict. The standfirst singles out its portrayal of a pregnant single mother trying to stay afloat. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/earth-mama-sundance-review/5178211.article) ## Paste — Natalia Keogan Rating 8.5/10. 7 July 2023. Keogan finds the film illuminating and heartfelt, though its treatment of motherhood as an innate biological desire can feel reductive. She particularly praises Tia Nomore’s resonant performance and the cinematography’s striking portrayal of the Bay Area’s natural beauty. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/savanah-leaf/earth-mama-review) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 78/100 (inferred from the text). 21 January 2023. Festival review. The critic finds the film a powerful, hopeful tragedy that exposes how society fails young Black mothers. Tia Nomore’s emotionally vivid performance is especially praised, alongside Savanah Leaf’s subtle social commentary. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/earth-mama-review-savanah-leaf/) ## Film Stories — Lauren Miles Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 7 December 2023. The review finds Earth Mama illuminating and emotionally affecting, though its detached style can make it harder to connect with Gia. It especially praises Tia Nomore’s performance and the film’s exposure of the broken foster care system. [Read the review](https://filmstories.co.uk/reviews/earth-mama-review-tia-nomore-shines-in-down-to-earth-drama/) ## The Playlist Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 20 January 2023. Festival review. The page appears to be a review of the specified film, but its verdict is unavailable. The page text provides no praise or complaint to report. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/earth-mama-review-savanah-leafs-social-drama-nurtures-bleakness-sundance-20230120/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/earth-mama.md