Land is a 2021 drama that tells the story of a grieving woman named Edee, who decides to leave her city life behind to live off the grid in rural Wyoming. Unprepared for the new life she is about to face head on, Edee finds herself in a life or death situation that requires a local hunter to intervene. The film stars Robin Wright, Demián Bichir, and Sarah Dawn Pledge. It is also Wright’s directorial debut, derived from a screenplay by Jesse Chatham and Erin Dignam.
The Good
Land is an enjoyable survival drama that focuses on just how fragile we can be as human beings. It is well-paced, extremely visually satisfying, and the acting is very good from top to bottom. For the majority of the film I felt myself just trying to take in nature, wishing I could smell the fresh air. I could do without the freezing temperatures, of course.
Robin Wright is on both sides of the camera for the film, and I think she handles herself well in both respects. This is also her directorial debut. She is believable in a difficult role that required a great deal of emotional depth, and she definitely impressed me for the most part. Wright was initially attached to the project only as the director, but stepped up to star as well because of a scheduling issue. In an interview she said "We got down to a scheduling issue and a time crunch where we had to shoot this movie in this window of time, and we only had 29 days to shoot it. And we just couldn't take the risk trying to hopefully get somebody in that window of time. And then the producers just said, 'Well, why don't you just do it?', and I said, 'Well, I'm going to be there anyway, so okay.'"
The most pivotal role in the film beyond Wright was Demián Bichir, who plays the local hunter Miguel who befriends Edee and teaches her how to survive on her own. The role that stands out for me most when I think of Bichir as an actor is the FX original crime thriller series The Bridge, which is pretty intense and really well done if you haven’t seen it (streaming on AMC+). His performance in this film was great in my opinion and he is a big part of why it works as well as it does
The film itself is more or less driven by the cinematography compliments of cinematographer Bobby Bukowski. Most viewers will see this movie for the scenery, myself included (and Demián Bichir, of course), and that’s a big part of it’s draw. Filmed in Alberta, Canada, the sights are absolutely incredible. It is beautiful pretty much from start to finish, from the cool rushing rivers, to the mountains, to the abundance of wildlife, it just makes you wish you were there so you could explore and appreciate everything nature has to offer. It really is a great feeling.
The Bad
I wasn’t quite as emotionally invested in Wright’s character as I thought I would be, at least for the majority of the film. I think it might have been because of how things came together and how her backstory unraveled. I definitely felt for the character, but the emotional investment came more so towards the end. I felt an earlier connection to Demián Bichir’s character as you get more backstory on him earlier on, and he is also introduced as a selfless person willing to save a life because its the right thing to do. My lack of emotional investment in Wright’s character did take away from the lasting impact of the film.
Two older ladies chatting about the movie after it ended pretty much hit the nail right on the head. For a good portion of the story, you’ll be thinking to yourself nobody would ever do something like this, nobody would ever go in to this situation completely unprepared, and I struggled with the believability as well. I mean we are talking about moving from the city to a remote cabin with no electricity, no running water, no vehicle, a limited stash of canned goods, and below average if not non-existent survival skills. But, at the end of the day immense grief makes us do things that don’t exactly fall within the realm of rational thought.
The Verdict
The directorial debut for House of Cards actress Robin Wright, Land is a beautifully shot survival story rooted in grief, and the lengths we will go to process (or escape) it. I enjoyed this film and ultimately felt like it was an hour and a half well spent. I think its fair to say we all have fantasized about what it would be like to just leave everything behind and move to a remote cabin in the woods (I know I have), and seeing it unfold on the big-screen is cathartic in many ways. I just think we would all prefer the circumstances to be quite different. Recommended.
TED TAKES RATING - 7/10
Land is now playing in theaters and available On-Demand. Check out the trailer below.
Times are tough, so support your local theaters (who are taking all of the necessary safety precautions) when you can by seeing films like this to ensure they can keep their doors open. Smitty’s Cinema in Windham, ME is open for those of you who are local https://www.smittyscinema.com/