Review of Promised Land (2012) by Felix K — 05 Jan 2013

Promised Land, directed by Gus Van Sant, stars Matt Damon, Frances McDormand, Hal Holbrook, and John Krasinski. Based on a story by Dave Eggers, Promised Land follows two corporate salespeople Steve Butler (Matt Damon) and his sales partner Sue Thomason (Frances McDormand), who visits a rural town in an attempt to buy drilling rights from the local residents who seek relief after the recent economic decline.

What seems like an easy job for the duo becomes complicated by the objection of a respected schoolteacher (Hal Holbrook) with support from a grassroots campaign led by another man (John Krasinski), as well as the interest of a local woman (Rosemarie DeWitt).

The film starts off with a lot of potential as it explores America at the crossroads where big business and the strength of small-town community converge. However, this movie train derails quickly - and despite what people may think about Matt Damon and his acting (though decent in this film), it's not his acting that ruins the film, but the weak "Hollywood twists". The twists completely undermines any "message" the film is trying to deliver (the dangers of hydrofracking - the controversial process by which natural gas is extracted from the ground) - and comes off as something that would never, ever happen in a movie that is supposed to be realistic.

Going into this film I had high hopes. I hoped that this would be the first sleeper in 2013. But despite an attempt to present something resembling a balanced approach to a debatable issue (whether the undeniable economic benefits of fracking outweigh the potential ecological issues), It turns Hollywood fast and ends up being a poor excuse of a film with no real backbone.

Unfortunately Promised Land failed to keep its promise and just couldn't keep it together long enough for us to care. In the end it just leaves us with a cheap and poorly motivated climax. Don't be fooled by the previews, it's not really a comedy (or wasn't supposed to be) as the previews might portray - and even though they're saying it is "this years best film" - well, that isn't hard when it's the first week of the new year. Overall I give Promised Land a disappointing 4/10.

@TheFelixKay.