Sarah’s Oil tells a true story about Sarah Rector, an young Black girl in 1900s Oklahoma. Sarah was a descendant of the Creek Freedmen. As such, she was allotted 160 acres of land in Oklahoma. Her struggle to hang on to the land in the face of thieves and racial barriers is an inspiring story.

Sarah’s Oil shares the same themes as Killers of the Flower Moon. White oil men steal the rights to the wealth in the form of oil from under the Native American and Black people who owned the land. It seems like if you know a rich white oil man in Oklahoma, there’s a good chance he got his money by cheating someone out of their oil.

Sarah Rector (Naya Desir-Johnson) was 11 years old when the story begins. She knew there was oil under her land. Her parents Joe (Kenric Green) and Rose (Sonequa Martin-Green) were skeptical and cautious, but supportive. Sarah was smart, good with numbers, and wise beyond her years.

Sarah and her father went into town. Oil companies were on every block. They finally were admitted to one where they met Devnan (Garret Dillahunt). When he heard where their land was, he agreed to drill there. He put up a rig and drilled a while. Then he told them there was no oil and the land was worthless. He left, leaving the rig in place.

He planned to buy the land cheap after a while and get all the oil for himself. He had 6 months on the contract Sarah had signed.

Sarah found Bert (Zachary Levi) and his buddy Mace (Mel Rodriguez) accidentally. She wandered into an oil camp and struck up a conversation. She trusted Bert immediately and took him to where the rig was on her land.

Bert and Mace agreed to drill using the equipment left behind. Devnan and his men started coming back. With money offers. With guns. With legal leverage.

It was a dangerous time. Two of Sarah’s classmates who were were also descendants of the Creek Freedmen were murdered and their land taken. The same could happen to her.

At that time in Oklahoma, a white man could be appointed guardian of a Black child by the court–even if the child had two parents at home. At the court case over Bert becoming Sarah’s guardian, the family met Kate Barnard (Bridget Regan). Kate wanted to help and she did. She got the press involved, brought in a lawyer from the NAACP, and got Sarah her rights back.

Naya Desir-Johnson carried the movie on her shoulders and did an admirable job. She portrayed Sarah’s faith, strength, and courage with a convincing touch. The story was told with tension and suspense. There were bad characters and characters with redemption arcs. I found it engaging and inspiring.

The details of the movie are not entirely accurate according to the Wikipedia article about Sarah. The movie was based on the book Searching for Sarah Rector: The Richest Black Girl in America by Tonya Bolden.

You can see this film on Prime Video. Several other streamers have it available to rent. Take a look at the trailer.