“Based on her own documentary short The Heart Still Hums, Leaf’s debut is strikingly straightforward, delivering a slice-of-life portrait of poverty that never wallows in misery or tries to be patronisingly heartwarming [with costumes designed by Natasha Hester]. Rather, Earth Mama meticulously illustrates how someone like Gia simply cannot pull herself out of her circumstances. We get glimpses of her backstory in offhand snippets, learning that her mother struggled financially to support her and that drugs have been an issue in the past. (There is no mention of the father, or fathers, of Gia’s children.) When Gia goes to visit them she’s a loving mother, but she’s constantly so exhausted and stressed that it’s hard for her to be very present in anything she does. She sleepwalks through her job and her existence, with her growing belly a daily reminder that her worries are only going to increase. “

Read the full review here.