the land movie review

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Robin Wright ’s directorial debut “Land,” premiering this weekend at the Sundance Film Festival, is a confident drama about multiple forms of isolation. Edee (Wright) is isolated emotionally by a horrible tragedy and the lingering grief that has made her suicidal. Almost as if she’s trying to mirror how alone she feels on the inside, she isolates herself physically too, going to a remote cabin and trying to live off the land. Wright’s film is a lyrical character study about two deeply pained people who find purpose in one another. Even as the vast landscape around them seems to recall the insignificance of one person against the beauty of Mother Nature, “Land” suggests that isolation isn’t the answer and connection is what matters. It’s a smart, moving piece of work, hampered a bit by a rushed final act that feels somewhat manipulative but confidently acted throughout.

Wright does a great deal of character work in the film’s first half-hour with almost no dialogue. The long opening credits find Edee driving to a remote cabin in the mountains. When she tells the man who guided her there to come and get the rental car when he can, he suggests that it’s safer to have a vehicle up here. Edee doesn’t care about safety. There’s a lack of preparation for what’s about to face Edee that almost leans into the flashbacks that hint at her suicidal nature following an undisclosed tragedy. It’s as if Edee is fine with the Earth reclaiming her. She doesn’t know how to hunt or trap; she doesn’t have enough supplies; winter is coming. If she dies out here, so be it. It's almost like watching someone slowly drown, hundreds of miles from the ocean.

Writers Jesse Chatham and Erin Dignam withhold the details about what has driven Edee to a place that almost feels built by Mother Nature to kill her other than brief flashbacks to a sister named Emma ( Kim Dickens ) begging Edee not to commit suicide and glimpses of a man and a boy, who it becomes clear are Edee’s lost family. At its core, “Land” is a story of unimaginable grief, the kind of pain that reshapes the landscape. Imagine something so horrible happening to you that the world around you looks entirely different—why not change your setting as extremely as moving from the city of Chicago to the Rocky Mountains? As a performer, Wright smartly imbues Edee with what almost feels like constant pain in the film’s first act. It’s such a stark, gloomy story that we start to feel Edee’s non-stop sadness with her.

And then “Land” shifts gears by introducing a hunter named Miguel ( Demián Bichir ) and a nurse named Alawa (Sarah Dawn Pledge). Not only do they save Edee’s life, Miguel becomes an unexpected ally and even teacher. He promises not to tell Edee anything of the outside world, maintaining her self-isolation, and he doesn’t say much. He’s going to give her the tools to survive, and then be gone. And he has some trauma and grief of his own to bring on the hunting trip.

As a director, Wright and cinematographer Bobby Bukowski (“ 99 Homes ”) strike a nice balance between lyrical shots of the gorgeous backdrop and close-ups that reveal their characters’ trauma. It’s a beautiful film that also never loses its sense of danger. There's a shot late in the film in which Edee is standing near the edge of a cliff and I was convinced she was going to fall. "Land" has a finely tuned balance between the beauty of this world and the fact that that beauty hides so many aspects that can kill you, from bears looking for food to brutal winter snowstorms to, yes, cliffs. Anne McCabe & Mikkel E.G. Nielsen’s editing deserves praise for finding this balance too.

However, “Land” works best as a performance piece for two excellent actors. Wright nails every aspect of this character, particularly the way she internalizes her grief and uses that empty pain to push herself to survive. Bichir matches her with a very different performance that’s no less powerful. Neither character gets much to say—and the dialogue is often the weakest aspect of the film in that it’s sometimes a bit too unrealistic—but that allows Wright and Bichir to do a great deal of physical acting. Most importantly, they sell how these two people end up needing each other without resorting to melodrama. They have chemistry as two fully believable, three-dimensional characters unexpectedly sharing the same space.

Some of the final scenes of “Land” feel unearned, and I found the film far more effective in its silence than its dialogue. A simple shot of a man sitting on a porch with his eyes closed, the sun on his face, can be more powerful than an overwritten monologue.

The song “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears becomes a recurring joke in “Land” as Miguel sings it a few times, and it’s tempting to pull apart the lyrics and how they reflect in the story of the film. After all, it does feature the lines “Turn your back on mother nature” and “It’s my own design/It’s my own remorse,” both of which could sound explicitly like they’re about Edee’s story. However, there’s a line in the chorus that is also important to remember when it comes to depression and grief, emotions that can sometimes feel like they’ll never end: “Nothing ever lasts forever.”

This review was filed in conjunction with the world premiere at Sundance on January 31 st , 2021. It will open in theaters on February 12 th , 2021.

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

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Film credits.

Land (2021)

Rated PG-13

Robin Wright as Edee

Demian Bichir as Miguel

Kim Dickens as Emma

• Robin Wright
• Jesse Chatham
• Erin Dignam

Cinematographer

• Bobby Bukowski
• Anne McCabe
• Mikkel E.G. Nielsen

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‘Land’ Review: True Nature

In her feature directing debut, Robin Wright plays a woman who moves alone to the mountains.

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By Glenn Kenny

The beauty of the mountain regions of Alberta, Canada, is presented in modes both lush and piercingly sharp in Robin Wright’s feature directing debut, “Land.” Wright also plays the lead role, Edee, a grieving woman who wants to get away from the world.

Many say they’d like to do that, but Edee means it. As she heads off to a mountaintop where she’s bought a minimally equipped cabin, she sees an incoming call on her iPhone. She throws the phone in a trash bin. At the cabin, she asks the man who’s handing it over to her to drive her rental car back down the mountain. “It’s not a good idea to be out here without a vehicle,” he warns. She does not heed him.

“This isn’t working,” Edee admits to herself as hard winter sets in. We’ve seen flashbacks to her former life, so we’re now partially aware of her situation. Through impressionistic shots that seem part flashbacks, part wishful visions, we get glimpses of an existence that is no longer Edee’s. And we begin to understand that while she’s come to this location perhaps in part to relive scenes from that life, she may also be actively courting death.

Suffering from exposure and dehydration, she’s found by a hunter, Miguel. With the help of his sister, a nurse, Miguel brings Edee back from the brink of death. The hunter is played by Demián Bichir, a great actor who very well may have the saddest eyes of anyone working in movies today. “Why are you helping me?” Edee asks. “You were in my path,” he says.

As they get to know each other a little, Miguel recognizes the arrogance and egotism that have made Edee’s mourning a destructive thing. To her assertion, “I’m here in this place because I don’t want to be around people,” he responds, in a gentle voice, “Only a person who has never been hungry thinks starving is a good way to die.”

Miguel reveals the losses in his own past, but it’s only at the movie’s very end that we learn how deep his injury, and indeed his self-injury, have gone. And what Edee’s been keeping hidden also comes fully to light. What’s left is reconciliation. If possible.

Wright’s movie is ambitious (that location! that weather!), but not grandiose. Its storytelling economy helps make it credible and eventually moving. While “Land” sometimes leans too hard on conventional signifiers (the rootsy music score is predictably somber), it’s a distinctive, strong picture.

Land Rated PG-13 for themes and imagery. Running time: 1 hour 29 minutes. In theaters. Please consult the guidelines outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before watching movies inside theaters.

An earlier version of this review misstated the profession of the character Miguel's sister. She is a nurse, not a doctor.

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Land review – Robin Wright heads into the wild for tame drama

The actor makes a muted directorial debut with a conventional film about a woman going off the grid after a devastating tragedy

• Sundance 2021: which films might break out this year?

I n Robin Wright’s conventional, competent directorial debut, Land, the actor (who has previously shown adeptness behind the camera for various episodes of House of Cards) takes us somewhere we know a little too well. Edee (played by Wright), is an urban-dwelling woman whose grief has distanced her from society, as grief often does, making her crave solitude, choosing self-inflicted actual loneliness rather than the more uncomfortable alternative – feeling lonely when there are so many others around. So she packs up and moves to a remote cabin in the Rockies, without any way of contacting the outside world, and tries to start a new life, alone.

When Jean-Marc Vallée, Reese Witherspoon and Nick Hornby brought Cheryl Strayed’s memoir Wild to the screen back in 2014 (the story of an urban-dwelling woman who travels into the wilderness after a major loss – ding ding ding), there was an acute awareness of the potential familiarity and limitations of the story, of a one-character drama hinged on the restorative power of nature. So Strayed’s experience was adapted with unusual flair in an evocative and immersive film about what it feels like to really be alone, how memories can domino into one another, how a sound can lead to a flash of something horrible or sad or sweet, transforming a theoretically simple trek narrative into a distinctive tapestry of emotion and regret. In Land, Edee isn’t on the move in the way that Cheryl was, but there’s an undeniable feeling of deja vu here (strong hints of Chloé Zhao’s far superior Nomadland also do it absolutely no favours).

Wright decides to tell her story in the most straightforward way possible, without any real energy or singular style, relying solely on the barest of bones to keep it all together. As an actor she’s skilled at taking on characters whose restraint hides something more complex but there’s not enough bubbling under the surface in Edee to keep us engaged (she’s defined by her trauma and little else). We know all too well that the tragedy that led her here will be teased with flashbacks and then revealed in an emotional finale (Wright shoots flashbacks as though they belong in an indigestion relief commercial, which is … ineffective). She’s strong enough to make it work for a while (until we realise what little there is to come) and there is a simple sort of satisfaction to watching her grow more accomplished at living in the wild. But we remain vaguely invested because of her commitment as an actor rather than her ability as a director, a dual role made even harder by a mostly rote script from Jesse Chatma and Erin Dignam.

For a film that so often chooses quietness over noise, when dialogue does arrive, it’s discordantly heavy-handed (“If I don’t belong here, I don’t belong anywhere,” Edee says with a straight face) and, after a solid start, with the script seemingly sticking to Edee’s dogmatic isolation, a sort of semi-love interest is lazily introduced, played well enough by Demián Bichir. As Edee reaches her low point, in comes a handsome, similarly aged saviour, Miguel (“I can’t take money for doing the right thing,” he tells her, halo out of shot) and their friendship-relationship edges the film into even more mechanical territory – guess who’s also suffering from a great loss?

With grief being the driving force of Edee’s character and the film at large, there’s not enough specificity in how it’s experienced or spoken about to fill the empty space, a sort of generic TV movie-level view of how someone processes loss (Tom Geens’ under-seen 2015 drama Couple in a Hole went from a similar starting point but travelled to a far more interesting place). There are stabs at something knottier, such as an all-too-brief discussion about Edee’s privilege (at one moment, Miguel tells her, “Only a person who has never been hungry would think starving is a way to die”) or the repercussions of one’s selfishness (with others forced to step in to help patch up Edee’s half-thought plan) but they don’t lead anywhere substantial or strengthen what’s essentially a character study of a character not really worth studying.

There’s stunning scenery throughout Land but it’s sort of a given when shooting in such a beautiful location and Wright never really manages to do anything especially artful with it to distinguish her work, we never really know her as a film-maker as we do as an actor – it’s something that could have been directed by anyone. It’s by no means the disaster it could have been, with history showing us too many actors who’ve tanked on the other side of the camera, but there’s just not enough here to make it a worthwhile retread through familiar territory, proof of Wright’s basic competency as a director but nothing more. At one point, Edee says to Miguel’s dog: “Looks like we’re finally getting the hang of this, huh?” Not quite yet, I’d say.

Land is screening at the Sundance film festival and will be released in the US on 12 February, and on 4 June in UK cinemas.

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Land (2021) Review

04 Jun 2021

Land (2021)

Robin Wright ’s directorial debut follows a trail beaten by recent female-led films about living off the grid: notably Jean-Marc Vallée’s Wild , Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace and Chloé Zhao’s Oscar-winning Nomadland . Although the scenery is just as awe-inspiring here, Land cleaves too close to familiar ground. Its unimaginative script pales in comparison to its free-spirited predecessors.

Much of the film plays out as a grim, silent montage of naïve Edee failing at self-sufficiency.

Wright stars as Edee, a woman who retreats to a precarious cabin high in the mountains of Wyoming following a personal tragedy. She is far from suited to the cabin life, which is more hardcore than cottagecore. Much of the film plays out as a grim, silent montage of naïve Edee failing at self-sufficiency. Her hands bloom with blisters after hacking firewood; she can’t hunt, her crops wither and she’s soon eating cold tuna from a can while shivering through her first winter. In one fearsome moment, a bear circles her outside privy, swiping at the walls. Be thankful, then, that Land frequently cuts away to those distractingly verdant mountain views for relief.

Intermittent flashbacks to Edee’s memories of a sunnier past life help explain her rash behaviour. Wracked by grief, at some level she’s hoping the elements will win. And that’s what she’d get, if gruff Miguel ( Demián Bichir ), a local hunter, didn’t step in to save her, with medicine and patient lessons in survival skills. From that point on, the film’s horizons narrow dismally to Miguel’s sacrifice and Edee’s redemption, amid some affable but forgettable banter between a diffident, self-absorbed heroine and her enigmatic saviour. For Edee, sadly, Wyoming’s landscape and its native culture are just a prop for her own therapy. And Land ’s pat conclusion is liable to leave you yearning for something as unpredictable as the weather, as broad in scope as the view from her rickety porch.

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• DVD & Streaming

Content Caution

In Theaters

• February 12, 2021
• Robin Wright as Edee; Demián Bichir as Miguel; Sarah Dawn Pledge as Alawa; Kim Dickens as Emma; Warren Christie as Adam; Finlay Wojtak-Hissong as Drew

Home Release Date

• April 27, 2021
• Robin Wright

Distributor

• Focus Features

Movie Review

Someone looking on from the outside would likely say her choices didn’t make much sense. But to Edee, they were the only way to survive.

She had suffered a crushing loss and was drowning in grief. And so, she cashed out her life in a world filled with too many raw-edged reminders, threw away her phone, stockpiled canned goods and bought a deserted, dingy cabin on an inaccessible Wyoming mountainside.

No electricity. No running water. Nothing but an old crumbling outhouse. Living in those conditions may sound insane, but to Edee it was the only way to stay sane. Being completely cut off and isolated and surrounded by nothing but thick forests of trees, snow-capped peaks and beautiful mountain vistas was Edee’s only way to emotionally and mentally survive.

Of course, there’s also physical survival to consider. And on that front, Edee isn’t doing so well. Howling snow storms, destructive animals, and a lack of hunting and trapping knowledge can leave you starving and on the verge of death out in the wilderness.

That’s exactly where Edee is now, huddled on the frozen cabin’s hard wood floor. She too weak to get wood, too weak to start a fire, too weak to move.

And then the ice-covered cabin door crunches open. And a pair of snow crusted boots steps in. Survival, it seems, comes in many forms.

Positive Elements

A passing hunter named Miguel saves Edee, having noticed on the way back from a hunt that her chimney was no longer issuing smoke. And after nursing her back to health, he promises to stop in occasionally—respecting her wish to stay away from people—and to teach her how to hunt and care for herself.

In fact, Miguel’s gentle and regular acts of self-sacrifice pave a path for Edee to move back toward more healthy choices. “Have you thought of what you want your life to look like moving forward?” he asks her. A nurse friend of Miguel’s gives of herself to help Edee, too.

Eventually we discover that the friendship Miguel and Edee establish helps them both in powerful ways.

Spiritual Elements

A native American shaman waves smoke over a dying man’s bed.

We can draw spiritual lessons from Miguel’s self-sacrificial actions. It’s clear that selflessness is woven deep into his character. [ Spoiler Warning ] And we learn later that his choices are, in part, an expression of personal repentance.

During her isolation, Edee imagines seeing loved ones who have died.

Sexual Content

Though it’s not intended to be titilating, we see Edee’s bare back and the side of her breast when she is stripped and wrapped in blankets in an effort to raise her core body temperature. She also stands with her bare back to the camera and washes herself. In another scene she lies down outside in a large tub of water. We see her bare shoulders, perhaps a bit of breast nudity (albeit very briefly) and legs.

[ Spoiler Warning ] Edee imagines her deceased husband crawling into bed with her and kissing her face and neck. She and Miguel, however, never cross any physical lines of friendship. He even sleeps in the back of his truck in the dead of winter out of respect for Edee and to avoid any misconceptions.

Violent Content

Life in the wild is hard. Edee’s hands become badly blistered from the work she does a with a saw and an axe. A large bear attacks the outhouse that Edee is stuck in and then enters her cabin and tears it apart. Other growling animals rip up the garden Edee is attempting to plant. She also is forced to jump into a quick flowing river to retrieve an important item she accidentally dropped in the current.

Winter storms batter and freeze the protagonist, too, as winter winds make it nearly impossible to get food, water or wood. The cabin freezes up. Edee loses a large part of her food supply and nearly starves to death at one point.

Edee also considers suicide several times. Early on, after a tragedy strikes, she openly questions why she still lives on. She talks with her therapist and her sister about ending it all. Later, after great hardship, she jams a rifle barrel under her chin and only stops from pulling the trigger because of a memory of her pleading sister. After that moment, Edee pins up her sister’s name in big letters on the cabin wall as a reminder to stay strong. Later, she also pins up pictures of loved ones for the same bolstering effect.

As Miguel teaches Edee how to trap and hunt, she carries and drags dead animal carcasses. And we see her and Miguel butchering bloody meat and skinning a suspended deer.

Edee is given an IV drip when severely dehydrated. We see a man in bed, dying of cancer.

Crude or Profane Language

A use of “h—” and three or four exclamations of “Oh my god!” Someone also uses the British crudity “bloody.”

Drug and Alcohol Content

Other negative elements.

The camera examines Edee’s outhouse toilet, which is swarming with flies.

If you’ve seen the trailer for Land , a film starring and directed by the very talented Robin Wright, you know exactly what to expect from this film. It’s a quiet movie about a woman steeped in overwhelming grief, who isolates herself from a world of painful reminders. From the brink of suicide, she must find a way back to some modicum of healing—one agonizing step at a time. It’s a journey she’s only able to make thanks to an unexpected friendship with a kind stranger who gradually becomes a caring friend.

The acting here is intimate and moving, the cinematography, beautiful. Land declares that gentle kindness and self-sacrifice can equal grace in the face of extreme hopelessness—a message brimming with spiritual parallels.

That said, this won’t be a film for everyone. Its pacing is measured; its sadness and sense of loss are disturbingly palpable; and its conclusion is both optimistic and bittersweet.

All of these elements combined might make Land a thoughtful cinematic journey of recovery for some, but a potentially dark road for others.

After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.

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Land (2021) Ending Explained – Will Emma Survive All by Herself in Wyoming?

When a tragedy strikes us, it often feels like the end of everything we know and love, a theme poignantly explored in the film “Land.” This psychological drama, directed by and starring Robin Wright, delves into the depths of despair and the journey toward finding a new meaning in life. Edee Holzer, portrayed by Wright, faces a devastating tragedy that makes her contemplate giving up on life itself. Land (2021) ending brings a powerful closure to her journey, highlighting the resilience of the human spirit.

Edee seeks therapy to recover but soon decides to escape to a remote place, far from people and the life she once knew. Initially, it seems she seeks a fresh start, but as time passes, her desire to end her life gradually intensifies. “Land” addresses existential questions about the source of life’s meaning, our ability to live in solitude, and the essence of existence. The film’s slow-paced, melancholic narrative, enriched with beautiful scenic frames, invites viewers to reflect on these profound themes.

The background music in “Land” resonates with the viewer’s emotions, aligning them with Edee’s struggles in Wyoming. Her journey of overcoming immense challenges, aided by a stranger’s unexpected kindness, illustrates the unpredictability of life and the reasons that can emerge to renew hope. This exploration culminates in the film’s ending, offering a compelling testament to the unpredictable paths our lives can take in the face of adversity.

Land (2021) Plot Summary & Synopsis:

Edee Holzer’s husband, Adam (Warren Christie), and son, Drew (Finlay Wojtak-Hissong) were shot by a random shooter at a concert hall. And therefore, Edee is completely shattered. She doesn’t know what to do. At the advice of her sister Emma (Kim Dickens), she meets a therapist who she thinks will work out the magic and help her overcome her trouble. After the tragic incident, Edee lost trust and faith in people.

She finds it difficult to be around people who she believes want her to be better at all times. When the therapist asks her why she finds it difficult to share her life with others, she replies that she doesn’t want to share her feelings and that she doesn’t want others to have a share in what she feels. Edee is reluctant to share what she is going through and has to live alone with the pain she is enduring after losing her beloved husband and son.

Edee’s escape to a foreign land

Wanting to escape the judging and constant questioning, Edee travels to Wyoming carrying her food and other basic requirements. She purchases a small house on the hilltop surrounded by Shoshone National Forest and tribal land and wants not to be affected by the noise of the competitive world. She gets rid of her mobile and car to keep away from the modern world.

The house she has purchased needs a makeover, it is old and has collected dust. There is an easy chance of animals like a coyote or a bear being her unwelcomed guests. Edee reads books, trying to learn to survive in this land she has come to. At the same time, she is reminded of the pain and trauma, and she constantly asks herself, “Why am I here anymore?”. The words of her sister Emma, “Don’t hurt yourself,” give her the courage to move forward. She tries to chop firewood and do some fishing but to no avail.

When nothing is working for Edee

In one instance, a bear breaks into her house and eats all her supplies. Edee is left with no supplies and no firewood to keep herself warm. Thus, she tries to shoot herself with the hunting rifle. But reminded by the words of her sister Emma she stops. A snowstorm strikes the place, and her house’s dislodged metal roof needs repairs. But attempting to repair she is hurt and injured. Luckily, a local hunter Miguel (Demian Bichir), sees Edee in need of help, and, assisted by Alawa (Sarah Dawn Pledge), a nurse, they both rescue Edee.

Good-hearted Miguel provides the supplies and takes care of her. He teaches her to hunt and accompanies her for a few days. He also leaves his dog, Potter, to be taken care of by Edee. Edee is thankful to Miguel for his kindness and slowly opens up to the idea of interacting with the world, in other words, to know about life outside the place where she lives.

Miguel shares with Edee his life story of losing his wife and daughter in a car accident. Edee learns to survive all by herself, from hunting to planting a few vegetables, far from being destroyed by the animals. Later, she learns that Miguel is on his deathbed suffering from throat cancer. He tells Edee that he was a drunkard and he was driving the car when the accident happened. He also tells Edee that she has taught him how to die in a state of grace. She, in return, tells him that he has taught her to want to live again.

Land (2021) Ending Explained:

Living alone seems sometimes a solution to all the problems we encounter. It may sometimes make us feel that life is better when we do not interact with the troubled world. But every living condition has its own problems. When Edee thinks that she is safe enough with the supplies she purchased and when she thinks that she can survive in a foreign land without interaction or modern equipment, the presence of animals around her and punishing weather makes her life vulnerable to danger. She didn’t think of a backup or deliberately chose not to have a backup.

What happens to Edee when the bear eats all the supplies?

When she is in a cabin near her house, she hears a bear growling, which walks straight to her home. The bear destroys all her supplies and eats all of them, leaving nothing for Edee. Edee thus is lost and doesn’t know what to do. She doesn’t know to hunt, and whatsoever she plants are destroyed by the animals. Thus, Edee thinks to herself that nothing is working.

She loses hope to survive. All her attempts at survival are watered down, and hence she gives up on life. Already she had lost the battle, and yet again, when this tragedy strikes, it affirms her thought to end her life. The bear’s entry into her house symbolizes storms, difficulties, and challenges that can, again and again, come into her life.

The question is whether she will be able to face them bang-on. Edee needs a companion to take care of her. To make her feel loved. And the only persons to do that were her husband, son, and beloved sister. And at the moment, she was just left to herself as she had lost her husband and son and was far away from her sister.

Why does Miguel choose to help Edee?

Miguel was on his way back when he noticed Edee on the floor and chose to help her. Seeking the help of Alawa, a nurse, he medicates Edee. Miguel believes in doing the right thing, and he doesn’t receive the money that Edee wants to pay him for the help rendered. When Miguel lost his wife and daughter, Miguel was the driver, and he was drunk, so he took responsibility for the death of his wife and daughter. Thus, this time when he sees Edee struggle alone, he decides to be alert and responsible. Miguel takes the opportunity to reconcile himself. He learns to forgive himself. And by making this kind gesture, Miguel wants to give hope to Edee.

Miguel helps Edee by taking care of her when she is sick. He helps by accompanying her when she is lonely. He brings her some food supplies, does her medical tests, and gets the reports to Edee. Miguel also teaches Edee to hunt to be able to survive in the foreign land. He helps Edee, respecting her decision to reside in a secluded place. Moreover, Miguel doesn’t enforce his ideas onto her but just calmly accompanies and teaches Edee that there are very many reasons we have at our disposal to choose to survive.

Will Emma Survive All by Herself in Wyoming?

Emma does survive all by herself in Wyoming but not instantly. It is a gradual process. When she goes to Wyoming, she thinks she will survive despite cutting ties with the outside world. Therefore, she instantly gets rid of the car and remains cocooned in the dilapidated house. She gathers all of her supplies only to have them devoured and eaten by a bear later. She loses hope but regains her courage when Miguel comes to her aid. Subsequently, she learns to hunt and also defend herself against wild animals. Miguel, a stranger who helps her without expecting anything in return, teaches her how to survive and live again.

“Land” takes us through a bitter-sweet journey of Edee’s life and makes us think that despite our life being vulnerable, we ought to learn to find meaning and fight to survive no matter what obstacles we may face. And that there are ample reasons to live despite the tragedies that strike us.

Read More: Land [2021]: ‘Sundance’ Review – Robin Wright helms a moving tale about resilience

Land (2021) links: imdb ,  rotten tomatoes , wikipedia  land (2021) cast: robin wright, demián bichir, sarah dawn pledge, where to watch land, trending right now.

He has an MA English Literature and Language Degree from Parvatibai Chowgule College, Margao, Goa. He comments on art, technology, ethics, literature, and movies

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Review: A moving story of grief in the wild, Robin Wright’s directing debut doesn’t fully ‘Land’

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The seasons pass swiftly in Robin Wright’s “Land,” a visually pristine, emotionally obvious drama in which time flies and heals some but not all wounds. A story of implacable grief giving way to tentative hope, the movie follows a desperately sad-eyed woman named Edee (Wright) deep into the mountains of Wyoming, where she begins a life of solitude for reasons that are at once intensely private and not especially hard to figure out. As the years fall away, marked by cycles of autumn leaves, winter icicles and other natural wonderments, Edee’s emotional shell begins to fall away too, and on a similarly predictable schedule.

We first meet Edee as she’s making her way up the mountain, stopping briefly in town to gather supplies, load up a U-Haul and toss her cellphone, mid-ring, into the trash. She’s done with other people, as becomes clear when she arrives at a remote cabin in the woods, an edge-of-the-world perch that suggests her seeming indifference to whether she lives or dies. But while Edee can cut herself off from any contact with the outside world, she can’t short-circuit her painful memories — namely, the apparitions of her husband and young son, their happy smiles frozen in ignorance of whatever mysterious tragedy awaits them.

Other things Edee can’t do, apparently: hunt, chop firewood or keep a hungry bear from devouring her rations. Ursine visitors aside, “Land” is decidedly not “The Revenant,” as wilderness survival stories go, and I mean that largely as a compliment. Wright and her cinematographer, Bobby Bukowski, aren’t interested in rubbing the viewer’s nose in mud and viscera, and while Jesse Chatham’s screenplay makes similarly strategic use of tragedy as a narrative device, Edee is not motivated by a desire for revenge. Initially, the movie pushes more in the direction of “Wild,” another portrait of an emotionally bereft woman seeking refuge in extreme isolation, but Chatham’s more linear story has little of that movie’s bristling, time-hopping energy.

Wright, making her feature filmmaking debut (after years of directing episodes of “House of Cards” ), seems keen to pare away essentials and steep us, for a while, in the tough rituals of everyday survival. The physical details are properly transporting, from the gloomy outhouse that greets Edee upon arrival to the cacophonous animal sounds that fill the air on her first night. (The movie was mostly shot, under suitably difficult conditions, on Moose Mountain near Banff National Park, in Canada’s Alberta province.) As lashing rain gives way to falling snow, the scenery gets prettier and incrementally more lethal. The near-death experiences that befall Edee in quick succession — that brush with the bear, the growing likelihood of death from exposure or starvation — grow naturally out of her harsh environs, even as they suggest an almost metaphysical intensification of her grief.

For all Wright’s skill at marshaling resources across this physically demanding production, it’s her unsurprisingly precise, delicate work in front of the camera that gives this story its initial pull. Edee may no longer want (or know how) to live, but her survival instincts inevitably kick in, sometimes against her own will. Instincts alone aren’t enough, of course, and “Land” would likely be even shorter than its fleet 89-minute running time were it not for the arrival of Miguel (Demián Bichir) and Alawa (Sarah Dawn Pledge), passing Good Samaritans who nurse Edee back to health. Miguel sticks around for a while and comes back every so often, briefly raising the specter of romance. But his growing bond with Edee remains both platonic and practical-minded, as he replenishes her dwindling supplies and teaches her the basics of wilderness survival.

The specifics of the situation are only faintly sketched in; there are passing references to a nearby Indigenous reservation where Alawa lives and works as a nurse and to which Miguel delivers clean water. But while Bichir’s low-wattage charm makes Miguel a calming presence — he and Wright have a touching, bittersweet rapport — there’s never any real doubt or mystery about the narrative function he serves here. He’s there to coax Edee away from the edge of the cliff and hold up a mirror to her own tragedy, to provide a sympathetic shoulder even if she isn’t quite ready to cry on it yet. He’s also there to sing along to Tears for Fears and his other ’80s pop favorites, an amusingly awkward detail that would be more endearing if it didn’t feel so calculated to endear.

And it’s that calculation that finally makes “Land” play more like a tidy, tactful study of physical endurance and emotional recovery than a fully sustained immersion in Edee’s experience. The film’s beauty is undeniable, but it remains a pictorial, surface-level kind of beauty, one that glosses over the muck and sweat of its protagonist’s various second-act breakthroughs, whether she’s planting a garden or gutting her first carcass. Here and elsewhere, the therapeutic power of nature is treated as a given, rather than a genuinely life-altering discovery. “Land” is a movie of hard truths that go down a little too easily, a story as terse but never as elemental as its title.

Rated: PG-13, for thematic content, brief strong language and partial nudity Running time: 1 hour, 29 minutes Playing: Starts Feb. 12, in general release where theaters are open

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Justin Chang was a film critic for the Los Angeles Times from 2016 to 2024. He is the author of the book “FilmCraft: Editing” and serves as chair of the National Society of Film Critics and secretary of the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn.

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Screen Rant

Land review: robin wright's directorial debut explores grief.

In Land, the sad, isolated feelings that come with bereavement saturate the story, but the film has surprisingly very little to say about grief.

Grief is a tough subject to tackle. Everyone, at some point in life, will experience the loss of a loved one. While death and loss are typically hard to address in real life (people rarely know what to say or how to help), the exploration of such emotions are often mishandled in films that opt for a less complex or abridged version of the process. Usually, a brooding character works through the stages of grief in unhealthy ways — revenge, endless rage, or by shutting down completely. In Land , actress Robin Wright’s directorial debut, the sad, isolated feelings that come with bereavement saturate the story, but the film has surprisingly very little to say about grief. 

Following a tragic loss, Edee (Wright) struggles with her grief and with being around others in general. Her sister Emma (Kim Dickens) tries to be there for her, but Edee is too far gone and unable to cope despite the support of Emma and a therapist. Needing to get away, Edee abandons her phone and her previous life in exchange for a quiet and peaceful existence in the Wyoming wilderness. However, life isn’t exactly easy in the wild and Edee has no idea what she’s doing at first, believing that her solitary confinement would assuage some of her sadness. Caught in a treacherous blizzard, Edee’s life is saved by local hunter Miguel (Demián Bichir) and nurse Alawa Crow (Sarah Dawn Pledge) and she must contend with her new lease on life. 

Related:  Land Trailer: Robin Wright Faces The Wild In Directorial Debut

Wright’s performance is devastating and heartbreaking. As Edee, she keeps Miguel at arm’s length as they forge a friendship that is grounded in the need for human contact and an unspoken respect for each other’s boundaries. Wright is distant, but slowly opens herself up as the film goes on, something which is exposed through her changes in body language. Miguel is a friend of convenience at first, someone who can teach Edee the way of life she’s stubbornly chosen for herself. Bichir is wonderful here, effusing a formidable, yet gentle, strength and kindness that quickly earns Edee’s trust. 

Together, the characters commune and listen to ‘80s music, though there’s a wide chasm between them due to Edee’s unwillingness to speak on her personal loss. In addition to the superb acting, Land’s sense of serenity is brought to life through lingering shots of the wilderness’ beauty. Snow-capped mountains and trees, the sounds of animals and running river water, and the undisturbed lushness of nature adds to the calming sense of quiet that Edee is chasing. As a director, Wright has an eye for such things, knowingly layering the story with details that bring the audience into Edee's secluded life. 

However, for a film that is only a cool hour and a half long, Land often feels agonizingly slow. The script — written by Jesse Chatham with revisions by Erin Dignam — also leaves a lot to be desired. How short-sighted Edee must be to think she could move on from her loss by being alone in the wilderness. While her early feelings of not being comfortable being around people are understandable, there's a sense of privilege in being able to leave it all behind and escape. What's more, Edee effectively runs away from her emotions rather than allowing herself to face them head on. Her inability to talk about her loss is relatable, but the film has nothing much to say about grief or the healing process. 

The character's own avoidance ultimately forces Land to stand still. Rather than explore the complexities of handling loss in a world that would want Edee to move on, the film is filled with long, quiet brooding that falls incredibly short of being fulfilling. The landscape and setting often act as substitutes for character development and exploration. Time seems to pass without consequence as the calm fills in the gap for proper introspection. For a film that centers the quiet sadness and mental retreat of grief, Land equivocates with regards to the topic, stifling any meaningful growth. 

Next:  The Most Anticipated Movies of 2021

Land will be released in theaters on February 12. The film is 89 minutes long and is rated PG-13 thematic content, brief strong language, and partial nudity. 

Let us know what you thought of the film in the comments!

In the Land of Saints & Sinners Review: A Soulful Twist on Liam Neeson Action Films

A great Irish cast and setting circa 1970s Northern Ireland greatly elevate an otherwise typical action flick.

• Liam Neeson and an Irish cast are very good. Kerry Condon gives a powerhouse performance as the driven antagonist, making her a standout in the film.
• The setting in 1974 Northern Ireland adds depth to the story and brings out the ethical themes of In the Land of Saints and Sinners beautifully.
• Though filled with clichés, the film's excellent performances and Western-style ending make it a standout Neeson thriller.

Studios and filmmakers have milked Liam Neeson 's excellent turn to an action star in seemingly every way the past 15 years, ever since Taken premiered in 2008. Though there have been definite duds among the bunch, Neeson has a gravel and gravitas that makes him magnetic in almost any film, and he has helped make a couple of thrillers (such as The Grey ) downright transcendent thanks to his excellent presence. His new film, In the Land of Saints and Sinners , utilizes the best of Neeson despite mostly giving him the same old song and dance.

Neeson plays Finbar Murphy, a professional hitman hiding out in a beautiful coastal village in Northern Ireland. He's falling for his neighbor, is friends with the local Garda who polices the place, and enjoys the local pub. He's ready to retire and try to start a garden, hoping to grow something instead of cutting things down. When he chooses to protect a young girl in an act of vigilante violence, he becomes the target of a deadly gang. Yep, it's all very familiar.

Fortunately, the film is filled with enough soulful performances, beautiful cinematography, and good direction from Robert Lorenz that it overcomes its clichés. In the Land of Saints and Sinners also benefits greatly from its setting in Northern Ireland circa 1974, which adds a lot of ethical and political dimensions to the film while also giving it a beautiful location. Neeson and the rest of the Irish cast are very good, and Kerry Condon (playing a wicked antagonist) is downright phenomenal.

Welcome to Ireland, 1974

In the land of saints and sinners.

• Kerry Condon is amazing and Liam Neeson and an Irish cast give great performances.
• The setting is culturally specific and adds to the ethical themes.
• The film has an excellent, Western-style ending.
• Contains a lot of obvious cliches and can be unrealistic.

Unlike most films which include the euphemistically named 'Troubles,' or the violent fight for Irish independence, In the Land of Saints and Sinners is set in the quiet, beautiful district of Glencolmcille on the Atlantic coast of Ulster. Hidden in the County of Donegal, it's a place out of time and could easily be mistaken for the setting of The Banshees of Inisherin , despite that film being set 60 years prior. Shooting on location, Lorenz's movie captures all the sweeping beauty of this land, from the crashing waves to the endless hills and greenery.

The film feels authentically Irish, too, and features a handful of the best Irish actors of all time. Ciarán Hinds is sweet and funny as policeman Vinnie O'Shea, who practices his shot with Neeson's Finbar by shooting cans. Colm Meaney is quietly interesting as Finbar's handler of sorts, Robert McQue, a man who lives with his adorable old mother despite handing out hits and paying assassins from their home. He manages to come off as sympathetic and almost paternal, deeply appreciative of Finbar and ultimately accepting of the hitman's retirement. Jack Gleeson is delightful as Kevin, a hotshot young hitman and possible psychopath who has recently started working for Robert and may be Finbar's replacement.

Related: Liam Neeson Says New Film Allowed Him to 'Indulge in One's Own Irishness'

Kerry Condon cements her status as one of the best actresses working today as Doireann McCann. She and her gang, the most radical kind of I.R.A. sect , open the film in Dublin, planting a car bomb to take out members of the opposition. The tense, small scene cleverly sets up the ethical questions of the film that the title alludes to — to what end is violence justified? For Doireann, she'd let children die in order to continue the fight for Irish independence. For Finbar, he'd come out of retirement and risk his anonymity in order to kill a child predator. Doireann uses a political justification; Finbar uses an ethical one.

Kerry Condon vs. Liam Neeson

Doireann comes into Finbar's orbit after she and her three comrades seek a desolate place to hide out following the opening scene car bomb. Of course, that place happens to be Glencolmcille. Doireann's disgusting brother takes a perverted liking to a very young girl in town, leading to Finbar's protective intervention, which in turn sends Doireann on a single-minded mission to destroy Finbar and his life.

Related: The 20 Best Irish Movies of All Time, Ranked

Condon walks a fine line here between stark raving mad and utterly driven, and she nails it. This is a woman so firm in her beliefs that they consume everything good about her. She's a killer, and so is Finbar, and it's a fight to the death. Neeson is melancholic and tired, which works well here. After killing so many people, he's nearing the end of his own life and is soul-sick and weary. He wants to salvage whatever goodness is left in him and give it back to the world.

The two actors give powerhouse performances, leading to an extremely gripping (but unrealistic) conclusion. In the Land of Saints and Sinners hints at being a Western throughout the film, mostly through musical and visual motifs, but it really assimilates the genre at the end, which the film marches inexorably toward, like High Noon . It ends with a scene that's half Tombstone , half John Woo in its themes, setting, and vibe. The conclusion really brings the meaning of the film home and is surprisingly beautiful.

So yes, In the Land of Saints and Sinners is filled with the same tropes of many Neeson action flicks, but it's so culturally specific, so well-acted, and often so gripping that it rises above the pack and becomes the best thriller Neeson has done in five or six years. Produced by Facing East, RagBag Pictures, and Prodigal Films Limited Samuel Goldwyn Films, In the Land of Saints and Sinners was released by Samuel Goldwyn Films in select theaters today, March 29, 2024. You can watch the trailer below:

Liam Neeson Plays an Irish Assassin in a Movie You’ll Probably Watch on a Plane

PARTICULAR SKILLS

The veteran actor gets to flex his Irishness in a reasonably watchable (if politically dubious) hitman thriller “In the Land of Saints and Sinners.”

Siddhant Adlakha

RagBag Features

In the Land of Saints and Sinners opens on a busy pub, but its introductory text spells trouble: “Northern Ireland, 1974.” A bombing attempt goes awry, sending its IRA perpetrators—led by the ruthless liberationist Doireann McCann ( Kerry Condon )—on the run from Belfast to a coastal town in Donegal, just south of the border. They decide to lay low, but this quaint village in the Republic of Ireland happens to be the home of hitman Finbar Murphy ( Liam Neeson ), whose path they eventually cross, resulting in a consistently watchable (if politically disengaged) drama about regret.

The film is an Irish production, but American filmmaker Robert Lorenz imbues it with a distinctly Western vibe. The opening notes of its score by siblings Diego, Nora, and Lionel Baldenweg sound distinctly inspired by Ennio Morricone, albeit with the occasional use of Irish folk instruments. These settings may not mix on the surface, but Lorenz’s Wild West approach to Troubles Ireland is less about flash and more about introspective mood.

It also feels inspired by Lorenz’s longtime collaborator, Clint Eastwood . Despite its use of echoing, Morricone-esque flutes and harmonicas in its score—reminiscent of Sergio Leone’s The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly , which starred Eastwood—the movie takes more after Unforgiven , a deconstructive neo-Western. Like Paul Munny, Eastwood’s character in that movie, Neeson’s Finbar is a widowered former assassin. Unlike Munny, his bounty-hunting days aren’t quite so far in his rearview.

In an amusing coincidence, Finbar—who moonlights as a book salesman—happens to retire from his life of crime the very same day that Doireann and her crew arrive. With Neeson in the role, it’s a pleasure to see his cold-hearted determination slip and transform into remorse in real time. His raspy delivery of “I have a very particular set of skills” in Taken is iconic, but the way he stews and reflects in silence is infinitely more powerful. (See also: Joe Carnahan’s survivalist thriller The Grey . ) Lorenz knows exactly how to deploy Neeson’s gifts; his dialogue, especially his chummy bickering with cop friend Vinnie (Ciarán Hinds), is a pleasant front to conceal lurid secrets.

For all the moral murkiness of its backdrop, In the Land of Saints and Sinners is surprisingly straightforward in that department. Finbar’s life as a button man may weigh heavy on his heart, but he rarely actually reckons with his actions. The film practically establishes up front that killing people who have it coming, in some fashion, is a-okay. Finbar is a murderer with a heart of gold, who shows kindness to a neighborhood girl just trying to bring groceries home to her family. So when he discovers that one of the IRA bombers has been hurting the young lass, well, the solution isn’t complicated.

A cat and mouse game ensues, as Finbar plays mentor to Kevin, an overbearing novice hitman played with delightful flair by Game of Thrones ’ Jack Gleeson. Only there’s an ideological void where the movie’s subtext ought to be. In the Land of Saints and Sinners may be set during the Troubles, and some of its dialogue may gesture towards political metaphor—Finbar refers to being locked in a cycle of vengeance with Doireann, though it seldom feels that way—but the film is completely disengaged from any political perspective, beyond presenting its IRA quartet as ruthless, two-dimensional killers.

At least the leads are consistently captivating. The film may have dispiritingly little to say about Doireann, but Condon makes a meal out of these scant ingredients. She’s utterly terrifying at times. Meanwhile, Neeson—whose career pivoted to these sort of burdened roles after a family tragedy in 2009—proves yet again that his face is the perfect canvas for anyone hoping to paint the tale of a man afflicted by death. (He also plays a widowed assassin in Lorenz’s The Marksman ).

The filmmaking is largely unobtrusive, with the kind of broad, straightforward blocking and dramatic presentation that allows the actors to do all the talking. Except for a key scene that ramps up the tension near the end, the camera rarely enhances any of the performances, but it also rarely needs to. Lorenz knows just when to get out of the way, and in the process, he crafts an enjoyable airplane movie. That may seem like a backhanded compliment—the film has plenty of flaws when it comes to political optics—but when a “turn your brain off” movie works, it works like a charm.

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‘In the Land of Saints and Sinners' Review: Liam Neeson Takes His Particular Set of Skills Back to Ireland for a Fanciful Thriller

It's only been six months since the release of Liam Neeson's last film, which means theaters are overdue for another thriller led by the prolific star. His latest vehicle, "In the Land of Saints and Sinners," arrives with an unusual distinction: Directed by Robert Lorenz, the film premiered in Venice a month before another Neeson movie, the maligned bomb-threat thriller "Retribution," hit U.S. screens. Being selected by such a festival lends "Saints and Sinners" a whiff of prestige, which it decidedly earns. In fact, the film practically resembles a "one for me" endeavor for the star, with its windswept Irish landscapes and thoughtful reserve, putting the actor among an ensemble of his fellow countrymen and providing the performances room to find poignancy.

The story opens with its most suspenseful action: a bombing by an IRA platoon in Belfast that accidentally kills a group of young children, setting a woeful tone for the rest of the proceedings. Led by their fiery, resolute leader Doireann McCann (Kerry Condon), the group heads for the hills into hiding. The escape puts them on a collision course with Finbar Murphy (Neeson), a local widower who moonlights as a hitman, now looking to turn a new leaf after a career of killing. 

So, it's a Western: a yarn about how civilized lifestyles are threatened and protected by acts of violence. If that thematic line isn't convincing enough, "Saints and Sinners" certainly shares the genre's interests on-screen too. Filmed on location across Donegal county, the feature luxuriates in natural splendor, in rocky cliffsides and rolling emerald hills (oftentimes with staid drone photography). And then there's the collection of bright actors to play Finbar's neighbors - decades-familiar drinking buddies and kind-hearted peers - evoking the intimacy of a remote, one-road town.  

That warmth also serves as a form of resilience. The community seems wary about the country's civil conflict, but also roundly desensitized by decades of sporadic, bloody attacks. "Saints and Sinners" doesn't stake out a moral stance on the Troubles, but its interest isn't just cosmetic. Rather, the political backdrop is evoked to elevate the film's tragedy and blur the righteousness of its characters, many of whom are possessed by a moral obligation to commit acts of violence.

The film represents a reunion for director Lorenz and Neeson, who collaborated on the 2021 U.S.-Mexico border thriller "The Marksman." Before that though, Lorenz was a longtime producer and AD for Clint Eastwood, even directing the walking icon for his 2011 feature debut "Trouble With the Curve." Lorenz doesn't have the gift for understatement or effortless form that Eastwood does, but the two are similarly taken by melancholy. It rings true here, centering on the 71-year-old Neeson's weathered, regretful scowl.

That striving for grace extends beyond the film's leading man, too, and can be found in even the smallest comic relief characters and especially in Condon's big bad. Scoring her best role yet after her Oscar-nominated turn in "The Banshees of Inisherin," Condon chews plenty of scenery cussing out nervous IRA confidantes and standing off with Neeson. But her best moment - and the film's one truly great scene - isn't the one when she blows a man's brains out, but the one right after that. After her gunshots awaken her target's elderly mother, Doireann is quick to conceal herself before calmly and apologetically explaining the situation. "He deserved it," she asserts, breaking the woman's heart.

It's the type of patient, offbeat gesture that breathes life into "Saints and Sinners." The film tends to overenunciate the pathos of more consequential moments, particularly involving endangered children. The opening bombing's dangling of collateral damage is rather tasteless, and even less nuanced is the abuse that one young girl suffers at the hands of McCann's brother, Curtis (Desmond Eastwood) - a grievance that Murphy notices and punishes, vigilante style, sparking the long fuse that leads to a climactic shootout between himself and the IRA soldiers. When it comes time to move the story along, Lorenz often betrays his filmmaking's lax virtues.

There are pleasant detours aplenty, but "Saints and Sinners" doesn't pretend that it won't end in bloodshed. The feature finds its essential tension in its approach to Neeson's on-screen image - here, playing a gentle elder embedded in a quiet town, but also unforgettably an actor that has buttered his bread shooting up criminal henchmen for nearly two decades now. When Finbar floats the idea of hanging up his rifle, he makes a half-baked but heartfelt retirement proposal: "I could plant a garden." The statement is met with a guffaw; it's one that the audience can share in.

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2016, Crime/Drama, 1h 41m

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The land videos, the land   photos.

Four inner-city teens (Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Moises Arias, Rafi Gavron) face the wrath of a Cleveland crime boss (Linda Emond) after stealing a car that's stashed with drugs.

Rating: R (Some Violence|Brief Nudity|Language Throughout|Drug Content)

Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery & thriller

Original Language: English

Director: Steven Caple Jr.

Producer: Lizzie Friedman , Karen Lauder , Greg Little , Tyler Davidson , Stephen "Dr" Love , Blake Pickens

Writer: Steven Caple Jr.

Release Date (Theaters): Jul 29, 2016  limited

Release Date (Streaming): Mar 23, 2017

Box Office (Gross USA): $18.0K

Runtime: 1h 41m

Distributor: IFC Films

Production Co: Priority Pictures, Low Spark Films

Cast & Crew

Jorge Lendeborg

Moises Arias

Rafi Gavron

Ezri Walker

Uncle Steve

Linda Emond

Natalie Martinez

Erykah Badu

Michael Kenneth Williams

Steven Caple Jr.

Screenwriter

Lizzie Friedman

Karen Lauder

Greg Little

Tyler Davidson

Stephen "Dr" Love

Blake Pickens

Charles King

Executive Producer

Poppy Hanks

Jennifer Levine

Kevin Flanigan

Nicolaas Bertelsen

Steven Holleran

Cinematographer

Saira Haider

Film Editing

Jongnic Bontemps

Original Music

Production Design

Teresa Strebler

Set Decoration

Ciara Whaley

Costume Design

News & Interviews for The Land

Jason Bourne Thrills but Lacks Identity

Critic Reviews for The Land

Audience reviews for the land.

I'm excited to see what Steven Caple Jr. can do directing the Creed sequel after this film. This was filmed in Cleveland, OH where I live. It isn't like a tourism ad showing off the features that make Cleveland great, but instead takes place in the poorer neighborhoods often after dark. Still I take pride in my city be featured in a well-made indie like this. The coming-of-age story was written excellently by Caple with realism and an absence of clichés. The cast, especially Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Moises Arias, Rafi Gavron, and Ezri Walker, is uniformly wonderful. There have been many movies with teens torn between a life of crime and bettering themselves. With the different ways the tragic choices and circumstances affect each of the teen friends this film offers a unique view. It is a thrilling drama that surprised me in big ways.

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Movie review: Set amid the Troubles, ‘In the Land of Saints and Sinners’ a true Western

At this point, it’s hack to refer to Liam Neeson’s “very particular set of skills,” but there’s no denying that the actor has made his bread and butter parlaying just that in the past 15 years, playing variations on a theme in an array of B-movie thrillers. Neeson has enacted bloody revenge on a train, on a plane, in the snow, on a ranch, and now, in his native land, with “In the Land of Saints and Sinners,” a thriller set in Ireland during the Troubles, directed by Robert Lorenz, Clint Eastwood’s longtime producer, and the director of the 2021 Neeson film “The Marksman.”

We open in Belfast in 1974, just moments before a car bombing takes six lives, including those of several children. The perpetrators, a group of Irish Republican Army foot soldiers, beat a hasty retreat for a small village, Glencolmcille in County Donegal, Ireland. It just so happens to be the same place where Finbar Murphy (Neeson) has been trying to retire from a secretive life as a hit man.

This unique geographic, historical and political milieu confers a certain intrigue to this otherwise familiar fare, but the story itself is pure Western, the classic genre explicitly referenced in the plaintive score by Diego, Nora and Lionel Baldenweg, and in the seasoned narrative beats in the script by Mark Michael McNally and Terry Loane.

Finbar is the longtime gunfighter who works by a strict moral code, looking to finally hang up his spurs and domesticate himself. When a group of baddies invade his small town and rough up the vulnerable residents, he has to put his talents to use one last time in order to protect the homestead.

Colm Meaney co-stars as Finbar’s broker, Ciarán Hinds as the local Garda unaware of his friend’s line of work, and Jack Gleeson of “Game of Thrones” is unrecognizable as a merry young hit man with a blackly Irish sense of humor. But the most terrifying person on screen is Kerry Condon, playing the steely IRA warrior Doireann McCann (possibly inspired by the notorious Dolours Price), the leader of the gang who has brought her cohort to Glencolmcille. When her loathsome brother Curtis (Desmond Eastwood) goes missing, Doireann emerges from hiding with vengeance in her heart.

Condon was nominated for an Oscar for her role in Martin McDonagh’s 2022 “The Banshees of Inisherin,” a film that took a glancing metaphorical approach to its Troubles themes. “In the Land of Saints and Sinners” is direct and obvious. This longtime national conflict comes home to roost in a small town, and while the hero and antagonist are far more similar than they think, sharing the same kind of fierce loyalty to their loved ones and personal beliefs, their goals put them at odds with each other. The political conflict is simultaneously simple but abstracted from the blood that soaks the streets of this small village.

There’s no real profound political commentary in “In the Land of Saints and Sinners,” the setting providing the background and plot stakes. This is a true Western tale set among the rolling green hills of Ireland, the landscape captured beautifully by cinematographer Tom Stern. Condon is utterly captivating playing a brutal villain, and no one plays a valiantly chagrined hero like Neeson, sorrowful and suffering. In the “Neeson’s Skills” canon, “In the Land of Saints and Sinners” proves to be a gem, the performances elevating this enjoyably pulpy thriller.

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• Cast & crew
• User reviews

In the Land of Saints and Sinners

In a remote Irish village, a damaged father is forced to fight for redemption after a lifetime of sins, but what price is he willing to pay? In the land of saints and sinners, some sins can'... Read all In a remote Irish village, a damaged father is forced to fight for redemption after a lifetime of sins, but what price is he willing to pay? In the land of saints and sinners, some sins can't be buried. In a remote Irish village, a damaged father is forced to fight for redemption after a lifetime of sins, but what price is he willing to pay? In the land of saints and sinners, some sins can't be buried.

• Robert Lorenz
• Mark Michael McNally
• Terry Loane
• Kerry Condon
• Desmond Eastwood
• Conor MacNeill
• 49 User reviews
• 49 Critic reviews
• 59 Metascore
• 2 nominations

• Doireann McCann

• Curtis June

• Conan McGrath

• Séamus McKenna

• Mum Outside Pub

• Finbar Murphy

• Vincent O'Shea
• (as Ciaràn Hinds)

• See all cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia The film cast includes three Oscar nominees: Liam Neeson, Ciarán Hinds and Kerry Condon.
• Goofs When Doireann confronts Robert at his office, Robert opened the drawer where his pistol. After getting getting killed, Doireann opened the drawer again and the pistol is missing, while it's not clear if it was in Robert's hand.

Finbar Murphy : There's more to me than this. I'd like people to see it.

• Soundtracks It's All in the Game Performed by Tommy Edwards Words & Music by Carl Sigman & Charles Dawes (c) Music Sales Corporation, 1951 WC music Corp. (c) Larry Spier Music LLC With kind permission of Bosworth Music GmbH, Intersong Musikverlag GmbH and Downtown Music Services (p) 1958 UMG Recordings, Inc. With kind permission of Universal Music GmbH (Switzerland)

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 46 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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