PROMISED LAND

PROMISED LAND
Written by Matt Damon and John Krasinski
Directed by Gus Van Sant
Starring Matt Damon, John Krasinski and Frances McDormand

When I think of the promised land, I think of a metaphoric place where great things come together to form some sort of utopian existence. As that would relate to film, I would think that the notion of actor/writer, Matt Damon, re-teaming with director, Gus Van Sant (GOOD WILL HUNTING), would be solid ground to start on. Throw in talented actresses like Frances McDormand and Rosemarie DeWitt and that ground should prove to be pretty fertile. You can even take a risk on unproven yet charming screen talent, John Krasinski, who collaborates with Damon on the writing duty. All of these elements should provide as close to perfection as possible but PROMISED LAND never delivers on its own promise.

Based on a Dave Eggers story, Damon and Krasinski have written a thoroughly unfocused, unavoidably preachy screenplay. PROMISED LAND attempts to shed some light on the dangers of natural gas drilling, which can provide some small communities with some much needed capital, but at the risk of poisoning their land. Enter a giant corporation, called Global Corp or something equally as banal, to take advantage of the poor unsuspecting and simple folks of middle America, whom Van Sant seems to delight in showing as genuinely clueless. Damon is the face of this corporation (McDormand, his trusty aid). He is supposed to be tops in his field but he does nothing but make stupid mistakes from the moment he arrives in McKinley, the farming town setting that could really be any farming town. How ever did this giant drilling monster get to be so successful with bumbling, contemptuous reps like Damon?

When Damon starts mucking up a deal that was supposed to be an easy close, Krasinski enters as an environmental lobbyist who wants to stop the drilling from happening (and steal Damon’s girl, DeWitt, for no real reason whatsoever, other than to muddy an already messy plot). For the first two thirds of the film, PROMISED LAND plays to middling results, despite its flaws. In the final act though, it completely falls apart. The story shifts its focus to the Damon character from the drilling debate. To be fair, I feel the entire film should have focused on character instead of cause, but to come in at the last minute and make this entire debacle about Damon’s own personal issues with his part in raping America, just felt forced. More so, it felt like Van Sant, along with Damon and Krasinski, didn’t know how to end things. It also felt completely inauthentic and when you’re trying to make a movie about an important issue, you should at the very least remain true to that point.

306. Promised Land

306. (09 Dec) Promised Land (2012, Gus Van Sant) 55



For the entire first act, Promised Land seems honest and earnest enough not to verge into preachy message film territory. Even when Hal Holbrook acts as a mouthpiece for anti-fracking environmentalists, this still doesn't quite feel hokey. But somewhere along the way, the contrivances and conveniences start adding up. From a twist involving John Krasinski to Matt Damon's total blindness to his corporation's evils, these people never seem quite real. Only Frances McDormand gets an arc that is true to life. Ultimately, this is just a flag-waving suggestion that America's just too darn determined to be defeated. (There are genuinely way, way too many American flags at use here.) Still, Gus Van Sant's assured direction, keen eye for composition, and a lovely Danny Elfman score keep this mostly on track.

YOUR SISTER'S SISTER

YOUR SISTER’S SISTER
Written and Directed by Lynn Shelton
Starring Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt and Mark Duplass


Jack: You’re out of the cage now, my friend. If you’re gonna fucking fly, you’re gonna start with a steak!

Have you ever been out to a lake? It’s peaceful, simple, and often so tranquil that you can just let your mind drift away into a rare state of relaxation. Heck, you might even learn a thing or two about yourself, if you’re open to it. This is the exact tone that independent film director, Lynn Shelton, strives for and achieves with great success in her latest insightful laugher, YOUR SISTER’S SISTER. Well, the simplicity, she gets; the tranquility, not so much. Either way, an engaging and endearing experience, much like a weekend away from the busier and louder mainstream fare we’re all accustomed to. In many ways, it is also a necessary break as well.

Reportedly made for just $125,000, YOUR SISTER’S SISTER was conceived as an improvisational experiment of sorts. Three people, all with varying degrees of issues with themselves and each other to work out, end up at a quaint cottage unexpectedly all at once. Two of these people are sisters, Iris and Hannah, played by Emily Blunt and Rosemarie Dewitt (who replaced Rachel Weisz when she had to drop out of the project). One of these people is Jack (Mark Duplass, who also rocks the indie scene in SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED). Jack lost his brother, who incidentally happened to be Iris’s ex-boyfriend, a year prior and has yet to reenter the world of the living. After Jack drunkenly sleeps with Hannah, who happens to be a lesbian just out of a 7-year relationship, it becomes as clear as a lake at dawn that matters have become fairly complicated for this trio.

YOUR SISTER’S SISTER is as contemplative and as rustic as you’d expect a movie about a trip to the lake to be. Shelton captures a candid intimacy that is increasingly rare these days. The video aesthetic may not always do the picturesque nature full justice but it also doesn’t let the actors get away with anything either. True to the essence of improv, these three actors cannot let there be silence for too long and inevitably fill the spaces with whatever comes to mind. Their combined talent is undeniable and without their finely honed instincts, this film would be the worst weekend away ever. And while the complexities that surface throughout their time away may be too easily worked out in the end, this does nothing to detract from what a fascinating exercise in introspection the time away provides.

THE COMPANY MEN

Written and Directed by John Wells

Starring Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Rosemarie DeWitt and Kevin Costner

Phil Woodward: You know what's the worst part? The world didn't stop. I mean, my life ended and nobody noticed.

I’m not sure if you were aware of this but the world’s financial markets crashed hard in the later part of 2008. Thousands upon thousands of people lost their jobs, their homes and their lives as they knew them. Two years later, the situation is on a reasonable mend but many are still without work and still losing their livelihoods. I don’t mean to make light of these difficult times; obviously, you were already aware of everything I just wrote. John Wells, one of the men behind the long-running television series, “E.R.” and the director of THE COMPANY MEN, however, seems to just be joining the table with his first feature. The ensemble drama attempts to tackle the fallout from this economic crisis but only ends up playing out like a whiney reluctance to let go of America’s overinflated financial hay day.

THE COMPANY MEN opens on Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck), strutting into his fancy office after playing a few rounds of golf before coming in. Little does he know, he is about to get canned. The company Bobby has worked for for 12 years, where he earns a salary of more than $120K plus incentives and bonuses, is downsizing in light of the crash. What follows this, is one overwrought termination cliché after another. Will Bobby be able to make his next mortgage payment? Will Phil Woodward (Chris Cooper) be able send his child to an Ivy League university in the fall? Will that other random unemployed guy be able to find another job in his field or will he have to lower his expectations in order to make ends meet? And it doesn’t stop there either. Before the movie ends, some executives will feel great guilt over sacrificing people at the hands of the shareholders, while others will collect their bonuses despite massive layoffs. All that was missing was some suit caving under the pressure and killing himself. Oh wait, it has that too.

Wells clearly believes he is telling an important story and the men of THE COMPANY MEN (also including Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Costner and Craig T. Nelson) do their best to make the plights feel real, but the truth of it is that the problems they face are those of people who were already privileged to begin with. No one here has to face homelessness or hunger. No, everyone here has their savings to fall back on. Everyone here had a great job to start with, which gives them an advantage over all the other people who were already struggling to begin with, when they lost their jobs. All spending time in the company of these men accomplishes, as they lament the good old days when they used money for toilet paper, is the highly unsympathetic reminder that they were living way too large to begin with.