Terra Prometida

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.

There have been plenty of actors to make the great leap from the small screen to big screen and with plenty of success, but it is my feeling that John Krasinski will be one of the few that becomes a powerhouse player in Hollywood. His latest effort, which he co-wrote with co-star Matt Damon and teamed up with Damon's friend and director of Damon's breakout film, Good Will Hunting, Gus Van Sant. Promised Land is one movie that you will be able to go back and pinpoint as turning point in Krasiniski's career and where Damon has gone from the player to the teacher.

This is the story of a big energy corporation looking to take the natural gas resources of a small farming town. The corporation's representatives played perfectly by Damon and Frances McDormand are sent in to find land to lease for areas for fracking a dangerous and controversial means of extracting the natural gas from miles under the ground. Soon a local school teacher and retired "genius" begins raising questions and has the town very much concerned and it raises to another level when a small environmental group comes to town with it's representative played by Krasinski. When he clearly has the town on his side Damon's small town roots and conscience begin eating away at him. Then the bottom falls out and only one is left standing.

Having made his mark on the sit-com, The Office, Kransinski has clearly proved he is more than just a smart funny character on a popular sit-com, he's now a true actor. His performance which begins very much playing into his comedy roots takes a quick and dramatic turn. There is no one better to walk Krasinski out of the office and into the Promised Land than Matt Damon. This being only second major screenplay, it is not unlikely that he could follow his co-stars footsteps and take home the golden statue on Oscar night (this would also give Damon his second writing Oscar).

With a nearly perfectly cast of supporting players from the perfectly placed Hal Holbrook to the always lovely Rosemarie DeWitt, Promised Land is a film that will have you feeling every emotion poured on the screen. With plenty of comedic moments to have you taken in early on, to the real emotions that can easily be identified with of the local towns folk.

The performance of the film that had my attention from the moment he appeared on screen was the legendary Hal Holbrook. His role as a man who loves his town and farm despite having had the opportunities escape, is one that you almost can't take your eyes off of. Holbrook has one Oscar nomination to his credit and it wasn't very long ago for the wonderful Into The Wild when he was a spry 83 years old. Now a perfectly aged 87 he might not only be looking at another well deserved nomination but he just may walk on that stage and take that coveted award in his hand and no doubt to an arousing applaud. www.loveyourmovies.com

"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.

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.

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!