According to Variety, the film is the first to be financed with green energy tax credits under an innovative model created by Mike Field and Ray Maiello at Radiant Media Studios (Maiello produced the film).[6] Radiant Media Studios brought Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce to the project as an executive producer (Kelce's first production credit).[7][8] Legion M co-financed under their crowdfunding model.
In May 2023, it was announced that Harris, Martin-Green, and Morales were cast in the film.[2] In June 2023, it was announced that Freeman, Reuben, and Ambudkar were cast in the film.[3] Filming occurred in Portland, Oregon, Forest Grove, Oregon and Molalla, Oregon in 2023.[9]
In September 2023, it was announced that filming wrapped.[10]
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 17 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.9/10.[11]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 72 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[12]
Valerie Complex of Deadline Hollywood called the film "a powerful testament to the resilience of the human spirit."[13] Matt Donato of Collider praised Martin-Green's performance,[14] while Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com also commended Harris, describing him as "one of our best living actors" in the supporting cast.[15]
