Promsied Land

I have always loved Matt Damon movies.  I vehemently disagree with him on numerous political issues, but as an actor, he's fantastic. Given the fact that I am an outspoken Conservative, I went into this film with quite a bit of caution and cynicism.

Promised Land  is a film about some seriously complex issues facing America: energy independence, environmental responsibility, public health, and the insane amounts of money that control it all.  To use a 2-hour film to bludgeon me with a political opinion I don't agree with would have been a colossal waste of time. However, Promised Land does a nice job of presenting the issue in a way that allows you to honestly and thoughtfully appreciate both viewpoints.

If nothing else, it has caused me to look deeper into natural gas exploration and more robustly consider its positives and negatives.  And I guess that was the point.


The cast of Promised Land is terrific with Matt Damon and John Krasinski in lead roles. Mick LaSalle from the San Fran Chronicle describes Damon like this: "He makes it seem as if everybody else is acting and he's just going through the movie being natural."  Perfect.  Frances McDormand (you'll remember her from Fargo) is wonderful in her supporting role, as is Hal Holbrook who manages to characterize all of the movie's tension into one voice.

Coming in at only 106 minutes, Promised Land manages to tell the story effectively without getting bogged down in a mountain of admittedly debatable scientific facts and figures. Director Gus Van Sant, known most notably for Good Will Hunting, leaves the research up to the audience, hoping this character-driven film will cause you to take a deeper look below the political talking points.

If you liked movies like The Rainmaker, The Lincoln Lawyer, or The Ides of March, this is right up your alley.  How do you like them apples?!