I will be honest, I had no idea about the real life story of Sarah Rector, so I was coming into Sarah’s Oil very ignorant. However, I think that Zachary Levi is a solid actor and he being attached to this was what made it come across my radar. This is a true story, but as I am not familiar with the real events of the life of Sarah Rector, I cannot say how faithful this retelling of events is.
Where to Watch Sarah’s Oil
Sarah’s Oil was released on November 7, 2025. You can stream the film from a digital platform such as Apple TV.
The Movie Review
What I can tell you is that this ended up being a very entertaining movie and one that I wish more people knew about. I think when this hits mainstream streaming, this could end up becoming a pretty decent hit. While, I only know a couple of people who have seen this, they all have said that they really liked it too. Granted, if there are historical inaccuracies here and you are familiar with the real story, I guess that could lessen the movies impact.
A Young Girl, Injustice, and Oil Wealth
The story of the movie revolves around a young girl called Sarah Rector. Sarah inherits a bit of land and the reason she is allowed to is because this land is regarded as being worthless. With this being set in the early 1900’s the levels of racism that are regarded as normal are pretty brutal to watch.
While Sarah and her family are not completely dirt poor, they do struggle, but Sarah has a belief that there is oil on her land, even though others do not share her optimism. Well, turns out that Sarah was right to believe in her land as oil is struck, not just a little either, she starts making hundreds of dollars per day due to her land.
A Powerful Performance Anchored by Naya Desir-Johnson
Now, as this is the early 1900’s a young black girl having all this wealth was frowned upon and the lengths people went to try and take her land from her is disgusting! Thankfully, a drifter with a heart of gold, played by Zachary Levi manages to step in and help. This is a pretty powerful movie, but while it is based on a true story, it does have a lot of heart and young Naya Desir-Johnson who plays Sarah has a very quick wit and likable personality that makes you just warm to her right away.
A Visually Rich Period Piece
The movie looks great too with the Oklahoma setting really catching your eye, plus, I loved the costumes that the cast wore and in all, I think they captured the time period really well. Granted, you could write what I actually know about this time period on the back of a stamp, so how accurate it is, I cannot for sure say. However, what I can say is that I really did like the look of the movie.
Final Thoughts on Sarah’s Oil
Sarah’s Oil really did catch me by surprise. It comes in at a little over an hour and a half and I was so entertained, the time flew by. In all honesty, I would not have minded another 20 to 30 minutes, perhaps filling in more about Sarah’s life once she really started to embrace her new position in life. If you are looking for something new to watch, I highly recommend that you check this out as it appears to have flown under most people’s radars.
