"Sarah's Oil" Review: True Story offers an inspiring tale

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In the 2023 film Killers of the Flower Moon, director Martin Scorsese focused his attention on the 1920s Osage community in Oklahoma, showing how members of the tribe were attacked and murdered after being allotted land bursting with oil reserves. The new drama Sarah’s Oil explores a similar subject but instead of focusing on an entire community, it hones in on a little girl who believes that her inherited land hosts “oceans” of oil beneath the surface.

Inspired by the nonfiction book Searching for Sarah Rector, Sarah’s Oil tells the story of Sarah Rector (Naya Desir-Johnson), a little girl who-- based on her birthright -- is allotted a seemingly-barren area of land. Because the taxes on her 160 acres of land are high, Sarah’s parents encourage her to sell it to make a little profit. However, Sarah persists. She believes that there’s oil beneath the land.

Because of her tenacity, she enlists the help of Devnan (Garret Dillahunt), a local oil tycoon. Devnan says the land is devoid of oil but when a few callous strangers suddenly offer Sarah a bit of money for the land, Sarah suspects dishonesty. She enlists the help of Bert (Zachary Levi) and Mace (Mel Rodriguez), two local prospectors, to evaluate the land and search for oil.

Director Cyrus Nowrasteh, who previously directed the underrated The Stoning of Soraya M, wisely focuses the story on Sarah, never letting the adults — who want to take her land — take over the story. This is the story of Sarah Rector and the young character takes center stage, recruiting allies and believing in her vision by herself, even when others question her decisions. Rose (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Joe (Kenric Green), Sarah’s parents, are present here but often underutilized, only appearing in a few important sequences.

The feature succeeds in showing how Sarah ultimately decides her own fortune. Instead of someone like Bert coming in to rescue the little girl during the more intense second half, the screenplay by Nowrasteh, Tonya Bolden and Betsy Giffen Nowrasteh keeps Sarah in focus, never letting her journey be undermined by the adults.

Even when the state determines that Sarah needs a “white legal guardian,” she continues to stand up for herself.

Admittedly, there are some difficult elements of the story that don’t seem to fit in. For instance, an unnecessary encounter between two corrupt enforcers and Sarah’s dog is hard to watch and never gets fully explained in the second half.

Produced by Jon and Andrew Erwin (who previously produced I Can Only Imagine and Jesus Revolution), Sarah’s Oil focuses on faith and perseverance but that faith isn’t always about religion alone. It’s about faith in yourself and the belief that some things are right and others are wrong.

At times, it’s difficult to understand how the villains here justify their actions — actions they take to undermine the rights of a little girl -- and it's heartbreaking that there's a true story behind this film. Sarah Rector, a little girl who stood up for herself, is an unlikely hero but she's one whose story should continue to enlighten and inspire and this film does just that.  

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