6.5/10 For the first half an hour or so of “Land” all I had running through my head was the gif of Tony Stark in “The Avengers” holding his glass and saying, “Not a great plan.” “Land”, the story of a grieving woman who decides to go off into the woods all alone with no connection to mankind or society so she can seek solitude and grieve on her own is a decent directorial debut for Robin Wright, who pulls double duty with directing and acting here. I totally understand wanting to seek solitude from the world after losing your entire family but someone who isn’t an outdoors type, picking one of the harshest outdoor environments with little to no knowledge of how to live off of the land, hunt or gather was pretty baffling, hence the gif in my head running on a loop. Coming close to death, she is stumbled upon by Miguel, played with tenderness by Demián Bichir. Bichir brings heart to the film and a welcome change of pace after a while of Wright’s character, Edee, failing in silence on her own. The film improves once he enters into the plot and the rest of the film is better and more heartfelt with the character development that he pulls out of Edee. By the film’s end, Edee’s character has a nice arc with growth and we are left uplifted, despite the tragedies that have preceded the ending. From a film making standpoint, the lighting and cinematography beautifully capture both the beauty and horrors of the Rockies and the score, of which there is quite a lot, sets the wilderness mood perfectly. I would like to see Wright continue to direct and see what other type of stories she can tell. The acting was strong and even though Kim Dickens has a tiny role, I am a big fan of hers. The film has its problems. The slow and frustrating start and all of the flashbacks/hallucinations of Edee’s dead family were way overused and became repetitive. It is also a one-time film as I wouldn’t think anyone would have a desire to revisit this in the future. But Wright displays talent and the film has heart to it so despite it not blowing me away, I recommend this if you’re in the mood for something more somber. You will only want to view it once but you could…land…in worse places when looking for something to watch.
#ForrestChump / #GirlGone / #AlmostDeadWood / #FallenLifeInTheWoods / #CabinOfCards / #SuckItUpButterCup
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