Sarah’s Oil (2025)

My Review

“Sarah’s Oil” is the true story of Sarah Rector, a young African-American girl in 1910 Oklahoma who inherits land which contains large deposits of oil. Greedy oil barons and speculators try to seize the property. However, Sarah’s good friend, wildcatter Bert Smith, helps her and her parents navigate their cutthroat moves. The drama of Sarah’s early life is expertly captured on film by director Cyrus Nowrasteh (“The Day Reagan Was Shot” 2001). He co-wrote the screenplay with Betsy Giffen Nowrasteh.

The cast delivered outstanding performances including Naya Desir-Johnston as Sarah Rector, Zachary Levi (in a career highlight role) as Bert Smith, Kenric Green and Sonequa Martin-Green as her parents, as well as Garret Dillahunt, Mel Rodriguez, Bridget Regan, Stelio Savante, and former child actor Jonathan Lipnicki as a chemist. The watchable “Sarah’s Oil” lost money at the box office for Wonder Project, Kingdom Story Company, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Amazon MGM Studios. It was filmed on location in Oklahoma.