Pure Grit

The Irish documentarian Kim Bartley turns her camera on the life of a young Native American and her love of bareback riding.

The Irish filmmaker Kim Bartley is clearly deeply committed to this her first full-length documentary feature for the cinema, her earlier work being primarily for television. Filming took place over three years not in Ireland but for the most part in the Wind River reservation, Wyoming and more briefly in Denver, Colorado. The compulsion to make this film developed step-by-step. First, a visit to America made her recognise how important it was for a film to focus on racism there. Next she heard of this Wyoming reservation, home to Native Americans many of whom were keen on the sport of bareback horse racing. Following up on that, she came across Sharmaine Weed on Facebook, a woman who was just such a rider and who lived on the reservation with her mother, her sister Charity and her two brothers, Brandon and Kashe. Having earned their approval, everything seemed to fall into place and Pure Grit was born.

Sharmaine Weed does indeed have an engaging character so it is apt that she should be screen centre and the setting is suitably photogenic (the photographer is, in fact, Bartley herself). However, when it came to shaping the material real life was less than helpful. Even at the outset there was a potential problem since the focus was divided between two different aspects: on the one hand the lifestyle of these Native Americans together with the prejudices and abuses that mark their lives and on the other the story of Sharmaine's determination not to give up horse racing and to become a bareback champion. The latter element is, arguably, the one above all that shows Sharmaine as having pure grit since her sister had suffered a very serious injury at this dangerous sport and, while she was slowly recovering, the duty of looking after Charity’s young child, Kiara, fell largely on Sharmaine. She nevertheless refused to let go of her dream and took jobs to raise money to buy a suitable horse.

But, as filming went on, yet more issues emerged. First, it turned out that Sharmaine was a lesbian who appeared to have found her soulmate in Savannah Martinez who had run away from an alcoholic mother. Thus it is that the reaction of Sharmaine's family and the development of her relationship with Savannah provide a further theme. Then, as time went by, it was increasingly apparent that Sharmaine's younger brother whose pregnant girlfriend, Amari, was also part of the household was leading a life that would go out of control.

With several of the central figures providing their own voice-overs, Pure Grit becomes a film which, while certainly sympathetic and not lacking interest, is trying to keep too many balls in the air at once. At times the sporting element feels central, but it is actually less compelling than a number of films with comparable material while, despite some colourful images, the native traditions get limited space. As for the lesbian aspect, initially the bond between the two women is very well conveyed but later developments feel rushed. Furthermore, details are missing in more than one area. Sharmaine’s mother, for example, never comes fully into focus, but this is at its most acute when it comes to the fate of Sharmaine's younger brother. The drama inherent in his story is potentially as strong as anything in the film, but it is sidetracked. It seems likely that Bartley’s motive in that was not to include material that might distress the family. If so, the choice was admirable on moral grounds but enough of this is present to add to the sense of this being a film juggling uneasily with too many threads including some that just fall away. Kim Bartley’s piece does indeed contain much to hold the viewer but, because of developments unforeseeable when the project began, the final result fails to bring cohesion and any sense of completeness to what life throws up for Sharmaine and the members of her family.

MANSEL STIMPSON

Featuring  Sharmaine Weed, Savannah Martinez, Kashe Tillman Weed, Amari Bercier, Brandon Weed, Charity Weed, Kiara Weed.

Dir Kim Bartley, Pro Kim Bartley and Rachel Lysaght. Screenplay Kim Bartley Ph Kim Bartley, Ed Paul Mullen, Music Kevin Murphy and Stephen Shannon..

Underground Films/Frontline Films/Bankside Films/Head Gear Films/Screen Ireland-Bohemia Media.
92 mins. Ireland/USA. 2021. UK Rel: 7 October 2022. No Cert.