User reviews

Matt Damon, once again functioning in the dual role of scriptwriter and main actor, reengages with director Gus van Sant (previous joint ventures include "Gerry" and the Oscar-winning "Good Will Hunting") in search of another fruitful cooperative endeavour . Based on a concept written by Dave Eggers and co-scripted by co-star John Krasinski, "Promised Land" is an extremely competent piece of story-telling, however laboured by a somewhat unconvincing fictionalisation of the matter at hand.

A touchy environmental issue has been presented in one of Gus van Sant's most down-to-earth and standard features to date, where the devilish fracking industry is the focus of a well-meant, if mishitting, effort. Steve Butler (Matt Damon) works as a consultant for the gas industry, roaming the countryside purchasing up land destined for exploitation by deep drilling. Together with the rigid Sue Thompson (Frances McDormand) they form an effective team, effortlessly buying up land in the idyllic small towns, strained by lack of cash, thus falling into financial despair. The gas shelves offer an option for easy cash - leasing the land and energy resources hidden deep in its bowels, thus bringing promise for better days. When Butler and Thompson are sent by their employer Global Crosspower Solutions to a cash-starved Pennsylvania farming community, the land seems ripe for the picking. Nonetheless the dark side of the industry slowly filters through, when the ecological soundness of the natural gas fracking process is brought into question by Frank Yates (Hal Holbrook), a physics professor emeritus teaching at a local school. Troubles slowly start arising, coupled by the arrival of environmentalist Dustin Noble (John Krasinski), who initiates a grassroots campaign against fracking. The two soon start to compete for victory, not only amongst the community, but also with regards to the heart of small-town beauty Alice (Rosemarie DeWitt).

Given the continuing discussion regarding the business, who on the outside wants to appear clean, whilst simultaneously sweeping all burning faucets, poisoned wells and dead livestock under the social radar, "Promised Land" could have been an important voice in the discussion, at least forcibly bringing the issue into the public eye. However the restraint shown in presenting the controversies behind fracking seem to be a missed opportunity, as the movie slowly drifts away from the core issue towards an order of melodrama and bickering between two sides of the debate. Not much however is done to present the controversy itself: Is fracking really a threat? Or are we just supposed to decide by ourselves through google after watching the movie? Naturally "Promised Land" isn't a documentary, hence the factual layer is nowhere as dedicated and impacting as in the groundbreaking "Gas Land". Nonetheless the lack of contextualisation is evident, offering too much space for any side to decide for themselves. Much focus is offered towards the question of whether the impoverished farm-owners should just take the money and renege their environmental fears. When someone's livelihood is at stake is it moral and right to ignore ecology? Somewhere amongst this nuanced approach to the issue, the question lingers: is there any reason to really fret regarding fracking or is this whole discussion just pointless? A well researched scene featuring Hal Halbrook would have done the movie a world of good...

Thankfully the script by Damon and Kosinski refrains from painting a cosy picture of right or wrong, presenting the local town life as a simple debate amongst immediate gratification and the perspectives of losses in the future. However the somewhat idyllic presentation of small town life causes the poignancy level of the question to drop, a far cry from the doom and gloom on offer in "Gas Land", the desperation lingering in people's eyes. Damon himself is well cast as a small-town boy fully dedicated to the company and the riches it offers, as a positive alternative. A far cry from a dastardly cooperative mug, his much more level-headed character is a welcome change, which avoids demonizing the people behind the problems. This occasionally helps to strengthen the rivalry for people's hearts, showing that the issue isn't an easy issue to resolve as either side would want to portray. Nonetheless this ambiguity also works against the movie, offering many points of view, but failing to truly show an in-depth focus on any, instead swaggering away into standard dramatic contrivances and a somewhat unwelcome twist at the end, which unravels much of the prior arguments, instead leaving focus on issues, which shouldn't really be the point of the movie. To some extent the characters and their tribulations override the integral story, somewhat collapsing the concept.

I really enjoyed this film. Acting is superb (obviously, look at the cast), beautifully shot, engaging confident storytelling. Very will scripted by Krasinski and Damon.

People seem a bit split on this movie, I think that partly has to do with a 'hot button' subject, but I don't think the film overly politicized the issue, in fact it did a good job of not making it to preachy, and showed that it is a very complicated issue.

Also the movie isn't an action film, it's a drama, that is nonetheless thoroughly engaging. Highly recommend. would give it 10/10 but third act issues lowered the score for me just a bit. Still a great watch!

Gus Van Sant has tackled a number of political and social issues in his movies. "Promised Land" looks at the issue of hydraulic fracturing, commonly called fracking. Matt Damon plays an executive from an energy company trying to convince a town to allow the process in their vicinity. Meanwhile, an environmentalist tries to convince people otherwise.

I have liked most of Van Sant's movies, and it's good that this movie is addressing a process that has devastated entire regions. Indeed, the fracking industry criticized the movie's depiction of the process as destructive (surprise, surprise). Unfortunately, what happens at the end does not seem realistic. It reminded me of what happens in Bill Forsyth's "Local Hero". Other than that the movie is a perceptive character study of Damon's amoral exec, the sort of man who's totally in it for the money. Mostly a good movie, understanding that what happens at the end probably wouldn't happen in real life.

Let's get this out of the way up front: I'm about as anti-fracking as they come. You've heard of tree huggers? Well, I'm a bedrock hugger. So you'd think to me this movie would be 100% environmental porn. Surprisingly, on that level my reaction was somewhat meh. We'll get to that in the 4th paragraph, but let's talk about the movie on a strictly artistic/entertainment level first.

Excellent. Great acting, good thoughtful pace without becoming boring (in fact it's amazing how interesting they made a subject which puts most people to sleep), nice artistic cinematography, and a truly original story. The story is about a good guy "Steve" (Matt Damon) who works for the natural gas company intent on convincing small rural townsfolk to lease their land to them so they can drill. Steve believes he & his company are doing the right thing by bringing money to the depressed rural economy, a no brainer. But things get complicated when he encounters resistance from some townsfolk and a mysterious environmentalist who isn't exactly fighting fair.

If you caught the clever spin, you see that the film flips the character stereotypes on us. The big corporation is the honest protagonist while the anti-fracking whistleblower is the shady character. I really liked that novel approach. But here's how it sort of falls short regarding the social message it seeks to deliver....

The movie barely gets into the actual debate over fracking (which, in a nutshell, is the practice of "drilling" by shooting water & chemicals deep into the ground so it knocks stuff loose and brings it to the surface. Sorta like fishing by dumping Ajax into a pond so the fish jump up into your boat). While the movie does mention this in 1 scene, that scene was played a bit over the top, with the mystery environmentalist lighting a desk on fire and threatening to incinerate a turtle to make his point. In other words you might miss what he's saying as you are marveling at how absurd he looks. The rest of the movie handles the debate in a similarly oblique way, focusing more on the cat-and-mouse drama between Steve and the environmentalist rather than the actual talking points. In that respect, this film didn't necessarily have to be about fracking; it could've been about a poker game, or a beauty contest, or anything where the goal is to be more convincing than your opponent.

Ultimately, the showdown comes to a clever climax and resolution where a speech wraps things up for us, and if this were an 80s teencom it would certainly deserve a slow clap, but at the same time it may leave you wondering "so wait... uh why is fracking bad?"

If you already know, or if you don't really care, then no problem. Without a doubt the movie is entertaining and worth your time. But if you were expecting a compelling exposé of why fracking is bad, aside from its rather unfortunate name, then you may end up disappointed and/or running to Google to get an education.

Contrasting this movie against classics like "The China Syndrome" (nuclear power) or "The Towering Inferno" (unethical building practices) where we are shown exactly what can go wrong, "Promised Land" doesn't take us there. It just tells us, through innuendo, that we should be afraid of fracking. That was an incredible missed opportunity for an otherwise powerful film.

As someone who's always been concerned about human impact on nature and the lies people tell for money, I had to see this film. Fracking is only "safe" in ideal circumstances and the real world is rarely ideal. The physical land impact alone should give people pause. Areas are being developed that people had expected to remain bucolic.

I found it quite watchable, though short on scientific substance, as I was hoping would be covered by the Holbrook character. They should have at least shown a cutaway diagram of the underground process. It's unclear why they kept it down to a few livestock photos and anecdotes, but I guess the point was clear for people who already understand the issues (maybe they assumed that of the audience).

The fast turnaround of the townspeople seemed a bit unrealistic but I let it pass. They could have gone more into their psychology. The ending, however, was cleverly done and I won't give it away here.

It's also worth noting that giant "green" wind turbines are having many negative effects on rural landscapes & soundscapes. This movie was originally going to be about wind power (per comments by John Krasinski) but Hollywood probably kill-filed that idea to protect its pseudo-green image. Maybe there will be a sequel on turbine blight?

Someone should make a popular film that deals with the total impact of growth-based economies on nature instead of covering specific issues in isolation.

"Promised Land" is a movie for the present time in America. Natural gas, oil shale, oil and related explorations are becoming more common. The world's consumption of oil continues to leapfrog, as more and more one- time third world countries acquire some affluence. Energy prices continue to work their way up. Sources of natural energy that once were far too expensive to produce, now become economical. At the same times, many small farm communities continue to shrink, and most become poorer with few jobs and businesses to support the dwindling farm populations.

Into this setting, "Promised Land" gives us a story of two employees who move into a rural community to buy up the leases for natural gas exploration and possible production. It's a story about people doing their job in earnest, and about the people of a small town. The town is in rural Pennsylvania, but it could be anywhere in rural America. – as Matt Damon's character, Steve Butler says. And, the people of this community must weigh the promise of prosperity against unknown possible negative effects on their natural surroundings from drilling. There is an interesting twist in this story that comes out at the end.

The cast are all quite good. Besides Damon, Frances McDormand co-stars as his sidekick employee, Sue Thompson. John Krasinski is very smooth and believable as Dustin Noble. Rosemarie DeWitt plays Alice, the fifth- grade school teacher. Titus Welliver is Rob, the local guns and grocery story owner. Hal Holbrook, at 88 years of age, is the retired MIT scientist and volunteer high school teacher, Frank Yates. And, the many town folk who are extras add nicely to this story.

The scenic shots are something right out of Norman Rockwell's pastoral America. Damon and Krasinski wrote the screenplay for this film. They also co-produced it with director Gus Van Sant. The film moves at a steady pace that may be too slow for some people. Those who need the fast and furious frenzy of constant-action movies to get their adrenalin flowing are not likely to enjoy this film. But, for the rest of us, it's a nice story that the whole family can enjoy.

It's a movie about fracking…and not frakking as in the swear word from Battlestar Galactica (I really wish that was the case—so say we all!)

"Promised Land" is about a natural gas company coming into a dying farming town with promises of riches if they lease their land for the purposes of fracking (fracking being the process of drilling). The company sends in the bright eyed, hungry young go-getter Steve Butler (Matt Damon) and his partner Sue Thomason (Frances McDormand) to a small Pennsylvania farm town that, with some minor resistance, is all but welcomed with open arms as the dollar signs start to fill the eyes of the struggling members of the community. That is until the environmentalist Dustin Noble (get it? Noble) arrives and throws a wrench into the works as he claims he's from a town that was financially obliterated by the greedy gas company folks.

For the most part, "Promised Land" is a pretty decent film, however its weakness comes in the fact the film is a character-driven one when it should have been a story-driven affair. While there's nothing wrong with a film that is all about the characters and their evolution and development but when you have a story about the environmental impact that comes from fracking THAT probably should have been the focus and not whether the Gas Man or the Hippie can get more friends in a desperate town. This dynamic makes the film feel like two different movies (that are kinda similar) being rolled into one film.

"Promised Land" isn't a bad movie at all. While it's a little distracting that the film's emphasis changes at one point, it wasn't so awful that it harmed the film in a major way. In fact, the opening and the ending of the film are so strong that the sudden character-centric change the film takes, and the push the story suffers with it, gets completely redeemed. Even the fact that McDormand, Damon and Krasinski aren't giving the best performances of their careers can be overlooked because even at their weakest, they are still enjoyable to watch. Granted Krasinski spends a good portion of the film making it look like Jim quit Dunder Mifflin and left Pam for a life as a man on a crusade against fracking. Overall, the movie is good enough to watch once and maybe check out again later in life if the need suddenly arises.

I would honestly give this film a 9 out of ten. It was directed beautifully, and I feel the screenplay is great. The dialogue is more than believable, and both Matt Damon and John Kransinski both do a wonderful job in conveying their character's qualities and aspirations. There seldom seemed to be a slow moment(if at all).

As far as how close to reality this movie comes.... I live in northeastern Pennsylvania, only 5 minutes away from Harford, and only 25 minutes away from Dimock(where the documentary Gasland was based). I have seen the effects of hydrofracking, both the negative and what little positive comes of it(but those facts and feelings are for another discussion). As sad as it may seem, natural gas and well drilling companies(to go un-named ONLY in this review) bought their way into the community with false hope, money, and lies, but not necessarily as it happened in the film. In reality.... it was even worse. Barbecues, parties, etc. were even thrown in order to gain fans and friends... The community's spirit and resilience was conveyed correctly, though in reality, it gained support too late.

All in all, even if political/social/ecological issues regarding hydrofracking aren't your forte, this film is a quality film that is captivating and deserves to have personal opinions set aside and enjoyed for its quality.

The movie is filmed in heartbreakingly beautiful rural Pennsylvania. A charming salesman Steve Butler/Matt Damon tries to convince the people sign over the natural gas fracking rights to their properties. It is like a tug of war, where each side in the conflict gains a temporary small advantage. Each side gets to pitch their side with conviction. There almost no hard information about fracking, but there is lots of emotion for both sides. It is "fuck you" greed vs nostalgia for an inevitably dying rural lifestyle. The movie never takes the environmental case seriously, but it turns out there is a reason you can forgive them that. The case for preservation is made mostly visually where the camera does time lapse or panning shots over the amazing landscapes. The rest is sentimental hokum.

You watch Steve gradually become more and more disillusioned with what he has been doing. The movie builds to the climax when Steve tells all to a big audience.

The main thing that did not work for me is the immaculate giant white homes with manicured lawns even single people live in, yet they are all supposed be on the edge of bankruptcy. The other is the witty small town bar banter. In reality, it would be much much more dumbed down.

"I'm not selling them natural gas. I'm selling them the only way they have to get back." Steve Butler (Damon) is a salesman working for Global, a natural gas company. Him and his partner travel to a small farming community to buy up property rights in order to drill. When an objection by a local teacher causes an enviormentalist activist to show up things get harder for Steve. This is a movie where the trailer doesn't do it justice. I wanted to see it based off the cast but it looked a little boring. While the movie is a little slow moving it is in no way boring. The writing and acting is very good and the "bad guy" that Damon plays really makes you feel for him and kind of root for him instead of the "good guy". While the movie does get a little political towards the end this is not a typical "enviromental/save the Earth" type movie. This movie makes you able to feel both sides of the argument and almost forces you to pick a side. I expected this to be boring with good acting going in. I got sucked in pretty fast and ended up really liking this much more then I thought I would. Overall, much better then expected and I highly recommend this. I give it an A.

Steve Butler (Matt Damon) is an energy company point man trying to sign up the town folks for natural gas drilling. Dustin Noble (John Krasinski) comes to town to rally the town against the gas company. It also stars Frances McDormand.

Matt Damon and John Krasinski joined together to write this and got Gus Van Sant to direct it. The sleazy sales tactics is too off-putting. It's hard to keep watching people getting taken advantage of. The twist seems wrong. The logic of it seems uncertain. It's just awkward to see. Also the movie gets hokey with its heavy-handed speeches. It's all unnecessary.

Promised Land (2012)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Director Gus Van Sant is visited from the ghost of Frank Capra in this morality tale that mixes politics, family values and greed. Natural gas salesmen Steve (Matt Damon) and Sue (Frances McDormand) head out to a small town to try and make the people vote for allowing them to drill for gas. They spread around whatever "truths" they must to secure the vote but soon the small town life starts to effect Steve. PROMISED LAND isn't a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination but it's extremely well-made, features some great acting and it really is a fun movie to sit through. There are problems including the ending, which I won't ruin for those who haven't seen the movie but I think this complicated story and issues gets solved way too easily. With that said, Van Sant was the perfect person to handle this material because in someone else's hands you're probably looking at an over-sentimental picture that is too preachy. Instead, Van Sant really paints a great picture of small town life and I thought the screenplay allowed each character to fully grow. This includes obviously the Damon character but several other smaller ones including a terrific bit by Hal Holbrook who plays a local school teacher. The material is extremely well-written and for the most part the message is always there but it's never just beating the viewer over the head. Damon turns in some of his best work in years as he's completely believable in the role of this salesman who starts to have second thoughts. I thought the actor delivered a very strong and emotional performance that really paid off. Holbrook is simply divine in his small role and McDormand is also very good in her supporting bit. Rosemarie DeWitt also adds another winning performance to her resume. PROMISED LAND, I think, could have ended a bit better but there's still something that bring it all together. The film is fairly predictable but with such strong direction and a great cast it's still very much worth seeing.

Following two colossally disappointing movie-going experiences (The Master and Silver Linings Playbook), I decided to play it very safe.

I chose a movie that couldn't possibly offend or disappoint in any way. In fact, the bar was set pretty low on a film that looks very much like a studio-hyped quickie that opens up strong the first few weekends, gets yanked from theaters after a month, and then does straight to the obscurity of a DVD release. No doubt, this one will be out on Showtime by summer.

Promised Land is actually a better film than I expected. It's sort of Matt Damon playing the role of Erin Brockovich — only in this case our hero works for a big bad corporation. Damon is cast as an advance man and rising business executive for huge energy conglomerate seeking to enter a small Pennsylvania town, pay off the local farmers to use their land, and then reap the rewards in natural gas production. His job is to get as many locals to sign contracts which allows the energy company to come in and start drilling.

Damon begins the film as a true believer in what he's doing. He does a fine job in the undemanding role as corporate lackey. But the always-stellar Frances McDormand manages to steal every scene she's in, as Damon's hardworking assistant. Indeed, McDormand simply brings authenticity and credibility to everything she does — an instantly elevates the material. And here's yet another shining example.

The trouble begins when Damon faces resistance on two fronts. Hal Holbrook, cast in the role he typically plays as the town's elder all-knowing wise man, knows the risks of tuning the farm land over to an energy company. He manages to create quite a stir. But the real obstacle is a young and charismatic environmentalist who appears on the scene and out-works, out-hustles, and out-charms both Damon and McDormand.

This film does an excellent job of showing both sides of a valid argument in the timeless philosophical rivalry between two forces of nature — tradition and progress. For those expecting another Erin Brockovich, where the line between good and evil is black and white, they'll ponder lots of gray in this movie. Even I found myself drawn in by Damon's convincing arguments (on behalf of the energy company), at times.

Promised Land is not exactly unpredictable. We all know what's ahead, especially for Damon who must face not only questions about what he's doing, but confront even larger issues of about the propriety of his chosen profession. It's a question many should ask themselves in our society.

What gives this film some added substance is how Damon ultimately arrives at his final decision. The ending won't be revealed here. But there is a wonderfully unexpected turn of events towards the end of the story which is reminiscent of the cruel final twist that marked all the Alfred Hitchcock Presents classics. In other words, even cynical me never saw it coming — and neither will you.

There's nothing about Promised Land that's particularly original or memorable. That said, it's a pretty good movie which delivered enough for me to give it my recommendation.

Sometimes, simply telling an old-fashioned morality tale in a straightforward way is the best way to reach the Promised Land.

Years ago when the world was introduced the Ben Affleck and Matt Damon team they took the industry by storm with their Oscar winning film Good Will Hunting. While they are both A-list actors in their own right, their biggest success was the writing of that film. Now Damon is back in the writing seat, but has brought along The Office star John Krasinski with him. These two guys have gotten together to both write and star in the new film Promised Land that was originally meant to be Matt Damon's directing debut but due to time handed the reigns over to Gus Van Sant. With these guys at the helm and a supporting cast including Frances McDormand and Hal Holbrook is there any chance this movie won't work?

Promised Land follows a pair of corporate sales people who travel to a rural town who have been hit hard by the economic decline in hopes to acquire the property rights for drilling on their land. What seems like an easy job becomes complicated with a schoolteacher and an environmentalist lead a campaign that counters them both professionally and personally. When this movie first starts it moves a bit slow and shows signs of never really taking off. It's not until they take their first meeting that things get up and running making delivering a well written and engaging film. While it doesn't break any molds, it is a well written and acted film. The story is one that will affect everyone in a different way. It never really takes the route of pulling at the heart strings, but does deal with an important issue in today's world but lets it take both sides rather than just preaching one argument. Damon and Krasinski both deliver their always great performances and have great chemistry bouncing off of each other that really shows they work well together. The rest of the cast do a great job and it's always great to see Hal Holbrook who delivers a great performance as usual. They made the choice to shoot this film on location in the country where these issues are occurring all the time and it really gave the film a more realistic film. While the issues involved in the film are serious, the visuals are beautiful to look at and add a downhome feel that this story needs to suck you in.

Damon and Krasinski have crafted a good movie that is relevant and works. There is nothing here that makes it stand out as something amazing, but it is worth checking out. If you are a fan of any of those involved in this movie then you will surely want to check it out.

Oh, yay, a film with a political bent. "Don't allow fracking." Only the film never explains exactly why... not that their answers would be legitimate anyway. The film shows how ludicrous environmentalists can be, but also shows how greedy corporations can be. Writers Matt Damon and John Krasinski and director Gus Van Sant want to push their agenda but it fails. In between, non-politically, we get some good writing and fine performances, especially out of Frances McDormand. I would watch this again for her and the rural America scenery. Rosemarie DeWitt is also quite charming. But the film lacks credibility to win people to their side of the argument. Even if it had made a good enough of an anti-fracking point, then with a little research to determine for yourself, without Hollywood telling you, the real facts, this could be discarded as propagandist manure. Fortunately for us, it tries but never reaches propaganda level and is just a movie that fails to leave a huge impression.

--A Kat Pirate Screener

I find myself pulled in two directions after seeing Matt Damon in "Promised Land"—east toward villainy and antagonism and west toward heroism and protagonism. Both his character, Steve Butler, and the hydraulic fracturing process for getting natural gas out of the ground are dual in nature. Damon works as a front man for the eight-billion dollar corporation called Global Crosspower Solutions. He and Sue (Frances McDormand), his mentor, show up in the small Pennsylvania farming community to buy drilling rights from all the landowners. And both of them (Who doesn't love Matt Damon and Frances McDormand?) initially appear as nice people doing evil deeds for an evil company. They discuss their plans to bilk the residents as they buy clothes to help them masquerade as "down home" farm folk. The dichotomy continues. At an open meeting in the high school, Frank Yates (Hal Holbrook), an aging science teacher with major scientific pedigree, challenges Damon about the dangers of fracking. Later, Dustin Noble (John Krasinski), an environmentalist from a group called Athena, shows up to present the other side, to try to subvert the evil gas company's plans. Even the townspeople are split about evenly as to whether they should or should not sell the drilling rights. Are Steve and Sue bad people posing as good people or are they good people trying to help this dying community? Is fracking an environmental disaster or is it a safe process to help us become energy self-sufficient? Neither question is answered. The scenery of farmland Pennsylvania is beautiful, the acting is good if not excellent, the film is worth seeing, despite the viewers' ambivalence as they exit the theater.

Its easy to see Promised Land just as the trailers promise.Namely as a film about the environmental hazards of drilling for natural gas using a process called fracking ( hydraulic fracturing), that is not as harmless as its made out to be, and placing this neatly in a decaying small town in the agricultural heartland of America. Promised Land works at that level too, but more importantly it is the study of its protagonist Steve Butler, played by Matt Damon.Matt Damon and his co writers John Krasinski and Dave Eggers, have written a role which is ostensibly a corporate salesman for big oil but could easily have been a Wall Street trader coming to terms with the troubling reality of the financial world.

Steve Butler is the study of a man seriously out of depth, he is doing a job that he thought he was good at, but suddenly his modus operandi seems childish and outdated.Matt Damon does not reveal his moral core throughout, he continues to wear the amour of his flannel shirts, that he buys to blend in, before he gets to the job of converting the townspeople to sell out their future.Perhaps he has risen to his level of incompetence, a classic example of the Peter Principle.But in the hands of Gus Van Sant its not just about professionalism.He befriends a charming single woman in a bar, in a town like this its a miracle she exists.He turns his charm on her just like he does with his audience. His favorite trick is walking upto the front yard of a house and asking the kid who may be playing there,"Are you the owner of this place?'When the confused kid says, "No", he asks,"Then how come you are doing all the hard work?".That's a slam dunk.

But Steve this time has competition, a man more handsome, more charming and apparently smarter arrives out of nowhere, with a bunch of damning photographs which graphically illustrate the nightmare that the residents are about to wreck on themselves.He not only steals the town but also the girl.How Steve will deal with this double whammy is the neat resolution of the film.The resolution exists because filmmaking is a costly enterprise, but as we learn through the course of this film, reality is far more complicated than that.

He has a partner, Sue, played by Frances McDormand, who is the perfect choice for this role.She is tough and business-like and we see her cringe more than once as Steve turns into a bigger and bigger wreck.She is a travelling hockey mom, her sons baseball game is her only silver lining.She manages to remain sane because of this emotional anchor which Steve does not have.The reality of the environment debate is complicated and it needs a scientist to decode, played here by Hal Holbrook, who is able to do a more comprehensive job of using Google to figure it all out.And yet as he and Steve concur,ultimately its all about our consumption pattern that we are not willing to discuss, let alone change.The sad eyes of Halbrook see no hope, only sparks of revolt, which he provides with his research to the residents.

We start off in Promised Land by looking at Jason Bourne and then forget all about him.Perhaps this is part of what Damon was aiming for, to become an actor again rather than a one man action movie franchise.He succeeds to a very large extent.Francis McDormand is surely an American national treasure and her performance here is reason enough to see this film.The cinematography is deliberately fuzzy but maybe the goal is to make a pretty landscape look ugly and grainy, photographing the lush landscape and its wonderful actors in sharp focus would have made it a pretty picture, detracting from its weary tone.

The oeuvre of Gus Van Sant is full of pieces that study the American landscape from an intimate leftwing lens.From Milk which looked at a gay rights activist to Elephant, which quietly observed the Columbine shootings with a docudrama approach, his films try to decode the American ethos. Along the way he makes brave choices like reshooting Psycho shot by shot, a decision for which he has been much vilified, but his reasons for doing so as a serious director were commendable.Cinema is better off with experiments like those, never mind if they fail, or don't make people happy.

Promised Land remarkably reminds one of Peter Bagdanovich's classic 1971 film The Last Picture Show in its study of the collapse of the American dream.That film perhaps sets the stage for this one, all the young people have gone away to the city and those that remain must make frightening life choices.Its easy to see the poverty struck town as a microcosm of America and the title as a commentary on the shattered "Great American Dream" (surprisingly not trademarked yet).Mr Van Sant delivers a richly textures film that neatly sidesteps the environment question and places individual choices at its centre.

Published on my blog mostlycinema.com

I would have scored Promised Land a seven instead of a six if it was not for the ending that I found too far fetched. It could have been better with another ending. You for sure can not trust any big corporation on this planet as money and profit are the only things that count in their eyes but the story could have been better with a more realistic outcome. The cast is good though. Matt Damon always delivers as an actor. He's an actor and a human being with good values, somebody that I really appreciate. So it's always nice to watch him in a movie. But in Promised Land there were so many options where the story could have gone to and unfortunately I think they didn't choose the best options. But all in all it's not a bad movie, just an average one, good to watch once.

This film has real, though perhaps inconvenient, things to say about how profit before people and profit before planet are top priorities of many (most?) large corporations. A bit slow moving at times with a twist at the end that has audiences split.

Greetings again from the darkness. On paper, a story about a controversial environmental issue (fracking for natural gas) presented by a respected director (Gus Van Sant) and featuring a strong cast (Matt Damon, John Krasinski, Frances McDormand, Rosemarie DeWitt, Hal Holbrook) would be a welcome cinematic contribution, despite an expected slant to the story-telling. Most of us enjoy, or at least accept, a well presented argument that brings light and substance to one side of the controversial issue. What no one appreciates is having their time wasted … which is exactly what this ridiculous movie does.

Fluff is fluff, regardless of the subject matter that acts as a backdrop. Matt Damon and John Krasinski combined to write the screenplay based on a story by Dave Eggers. The screenplay is simple-minded, uninformed and amateurish. Did they do any research? It seems more likely they got together a couple of times, sipped a few imports, and threw together an outline. If they had then turned that outline over to a REAL writer, the ensuing mess of a movie could have been avoided. Instead, they somehow tricked Gus Van Sant into becoming the director. This process worked just fine 15 years ago when Ben Affleck collaborated with Damon and Van Sant for the excellent Good Will Hunting. That film shouldn't even be tarnished by mentioning it here.

There is no shortage of articles available with actual facts on the companies and process involved with natural gas fracking. In 2010, Josh Fox even put together "GasLand", a very effective documentary on the subject. So, the idea of formulating a Hollywood dramatic version makes sense. Matt Damon's name alone ensures better exposure in one week than Mr. Fox' film has had in two plus years. What doesn't make sense is a version that is so lightweight and lacking in details, that a convoluted, half-assed love triangle steals the spotlight off what should be the real story.

What is the real story? A fictional $9 billion company with the generic name Global Crosspower Solutions sends their crack closing team of Steve Butler (Damon) and Sue Thomason (McDormand) into rural Pennsylvania to buy up the land leases from the area's struggling farmers. Somehow we are supposed to believe that Steve, this hotshot rising star, makes two blunders in the first couple of days – allowing the town to vote, and getting blackout drunk in the only town bar. Then, this brilliant executive totally loses his equilibrium when a small time environmentalist (Krasinski) shows up and starts charming the locals with his terror stories of fracking.

Steve walks around telling people "I'm not a bad guy", McDormand shakes her head at him and says "It's just a job", and Krasinski buddies up with everyone … including local school teacher Rosemarie DeWitt, on whom Damon has a bit of a crush. One of the more ridiculous bits is that Damon's character supposedly grew up in a farm community just like this and saw it shrivel up when the factory closed. He is probably the only guy to ever grow up on a farm who can't drive a stickshift and has to be chauffeured around by McDormand. As if all of that isn't ridiculous and lame enough, here comes the most absurd movie twist of all time. Since the first 2/3 of the movie lacks any sense of realism, the twist is not surprising, but rather just plain ludicrous. It's a cheap writing device.

As for positives, it's always a joy to watch 88 year old Hal Holbrook on screen. More attention to his character could have saved the movie … he is far and away the most intelligent and interesting character. Also, Damon's character goes on a heartfelt rant towards some drunken rednecks. It's his only scene that works and ends, logically, with a punch to nose. Titus Welliver, Scoot McNairy and Lucas Black all have moments of support that deserve a better movie. The same can't be said for Damon, Krasinski and Van Sant … the blame and embarrassment falls at your feet, gentleman.