Promised Land
- Director: Gus Van Sant
- Writer: John Krasinski; Matt Damon
- Producer: Isabel Freer; Jonathan King
CGiii Comment
Well-made with a seam of sensitivity that packs a pretty powerful punch. Or, a well-made idealistic piece of nonsense...both are true, dependent on where you stand.
The serious will find it fluffy. The not-so-serious will shake their heads with abject disappointment when the sting in the tail is revealed and reviled.
Van Sant has put together an elegant little film, crisply written and acted by the 'stars'...it won't move mountains...but, it will give a beginners insight into industrial duplicity.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
Corporate salesman Steve Butler (Damon) arrives in a rural town with his sales partner, Sue Thomason (McDormand). With the town having been hit hard by the economic decline of recent years, the two outsiders see the local citizens as likely to accept their company's offer, for drilling rights to their properties, as much-needed relief. What seems like an easy job for the duo becomes complicated by the objection of a respected schoolteacher (Holbrook) with support from a grassroots campaign led by another man (Krasinski) who counters Steve both personally and professionally.
Cast & Characters
Matt Damon as Steve Butler;
John Krasinski as Dustin Noble;
Frances McDormand as Sue Thomason;
Scoot McNairy as Jeff Dennon;
Titus Welliver;
Tim Guinee as Drew;
Rosemarie DeWitt as Alice;
Lucas Black as Paul Geary;
Hal Holbrook as Frank Yates;
Terry Kinney as David Stonehill