Before 2020 arrives and the new Candyman comes to bloody life, Nia DaCosta’s modern Western Little Woods is here to grip you with a tale of the haves and have-nots, the struggle Americans experience to afford healthcare, and the bonds of family.

In a day and age when Americans are resorting to PayPal and GoFundMe pages to fund their own treatments, and when conservatives are doing everything in their power to strip women of their reproductive rights, the themes in DaCosta’s film are resonant. This story about two sisters stuck in a dead-end fracking town touches on things that are currently happening, but shouldn’t— the film doesn’t only do its job as a modern Western with plenty of drama and crime in its veins, it’s a piece of fiction that works as a call to action, too.The synopsis for DaCosta’s screenplay is as follows:

Ollie and Deb— work outside the law to better their lives. Ollie’s long been helping the struggling residents of her North Dakota oil boomtown
illegally access
Canadian health care and medication.

When authorities catch on,
she plans to abandon the illicit operation,
only to find herself dragged in deeper
after a plea for help from her sister,
who’s gotten pregnant and desperately
needs to find the money
to have an abortion.

DaCosta both writes and directs the film. In front of the camera is an impressive cast led by Tessa Thompson— also an executive producer— and Lily James as the sisters Ollie and Deb, filled out by the likes of Lance Reddick and James Badge Dale, as well as Luke Kirby (The Deuce), Elizabeth Maxwell (Attack on Titan), and Luci Christian (My Hero Academia).

The film boasts a score from composer Brian McOmber, whose music is featured in the documentary Hail Satan? and also the first two feature films by Trey Edward Shults, Krisha and It Comes at Night.

Neon is handling media distribution for the film while Refinery29 is the theatrical distributor. Little Woods is Rated R for language and some drug material, opening in theatres April 19th.