Earthwork

The film opens with a young Stan Herd living on a farm finding ways to use his imagination creating art on the land. He uses pretty much whatever he can find. For all the joy he finds creating his art in the dirt, he finds the real place to see it is from the air. While living on a farm near Lawrence, Kansas, he has the luck to have his work photographed by a New York photographer who suggests he find a way to do a project, an earthwork, in NYC. Stan Herd has enormous gumption and heart. He makes the trip to New York and convinces Donald Trump to let him do an earthwork on land Trump plans to later develop.

All of the actors deliver performances that are in the category of what I would call sublime. There's an unusual cast of characters who arrive one by one in the New York portion of the film. Stan Herd's Kansas family is supportive, kind and caring. These are people deserving of a quiet portrayal, with real emotion that comes through without having to rise to a passion that is bombastic. They make their points softly. John Hawkes becomes a very focused Stan Herd in this film. He shows us a strong minded, talented, trusting and sweet natured man. The audience gets pulled into his world, which is actually quite beautiful and full of sunshine.

I saw this film in a private showing and enjoyed it. I am predisposed to like indie films and this one did not disappoint. The story contained drama, heartbreak and wonderful interactions between the characters; and believe me, they were characters. The events will have you saying "You can't make this stuff up". Fact truly is stranger than fiction.

It was interesting to see John Hawkes as an entirely different character than the one he played in "Winter's Bone". He is a chameleon. James McDaniel was memorable as "Lone Wolf" and Laura Kirk played the long suffering wife with delicacy and grace.

Like anyone on IMDb, I'm a movie lover. I see a lot of movies, so it takes a very good film for me to take the time to write a glowing review on IMDb. I was fortunate enough to see it at the Austin Film Festival and I loved it. It opened my eyes to an artist and story that I had never heard of. Earthwork is a beautifully crafted indie that I hope breaks out when it is released in late April. It's one those movies that sort of sneaks up on you and days or weeks later you think about certain shots of Stan Herd's crop art, the opening title sequence and the heartbreaking story and you think...damn...that was a good movie. Big ups to the director Chris Ordal and the whole crew for representing Kansas in a big way! Ordal definitely has a bright future in the film industry. He doesn't beat you over the head with flashy shots and camera moves like most debut directors...he tells the story like it should be told and he lets the actors act. Kudos

Stan Herd is a Kansas farmer out to show the art world that he can make it in New York. He faces countless obstacles on his journey. He also finds support and friendship among the homeless men who help him. He in turn gives them hope and purpose. The film explores the mind and determination of an artist.

I ran home after this viewing and looked up all of the actors as they made quite an impression on me. Some I recognized and some were completely new. I must admit that I didn't recognize John Hawkes at all from his role in "Winter's Bone". It's a nice contrast and I look forward to seeing him in more movies.

Jeff Daniels was amazing and although her role was small, Laura Kirk's portrayal of Janis Herd was memorable.

This small independent film is a must see.

This is a film that you root for. An indie film with great heart and honesty. John Hawkes, Chris Bachand and the rest of the cast deliver truthful performances that inspire. The audience can feel their passion, pain and most of all hope and the importance of friendship. The production makes most of what I'm sure was a limited budget.

This film deserves to be seen and hopefully as it continues to play and word of mouth continues to spread Chris Ordal, the screenwriter/director will have more opportunities to share his vision.

A side note: The opening credit sequence that represents the artist's work is truly beautiful.