The wilderness will forever beckon those in need of some serious soul-searching. People desperately wanting a breath of fresh air. We have seen this done in numerous films, and in Land, its story walks a familiar path, but still manages to be affective in its portrait of grieving alone. Though, no matter how much one resists – there’s no escaping that necessity for companionship.
In Robin Wright’s directorial debut, she plays Edee, a mother and wife whose whole world is ripped away by tragedy. She chooses to shut off everyone and everything, including her sister Emma (Kim Dickens), and embarks on a life of solitude in the mountains of Wyoming. Hidden away in a moth-eaten cabin, Edee is left with nothing but her ghosts and inconceivable pain. The terrific and yet delicate performance from Wright quietly represents a woman who’s left questioning her very existence. She’s a lost soul who doesn’t want to be found.
Living among nature has its upsides when you don’t want to see anyone. However, there’s obvious downsides as well, and Edee finds that out the hard way when a bear barges in and destroys what she needs to survive. Death is at her doorstep as hunger and hypothermia set in. Fortunately, she’s saved by Miguel (played splendidly by Demián Bichir), a hunter with a heart of gold. Of course, afterwards it’s only natural he show her how to live off the land.
The lovely connection between him and Edee is where Land really succeeds. Along with writers Jesse Chatham and Erin Dignam, Wright leaves romance out of it and focuses on just two people trying to live with excruciating loss. What Wright and Bichir are able to express on-screen is fragile and honest.
There are definitely aspects of the film that are routine with audiences being aware of how certain things are going to go. Nevertheless, it doesn’t diminish two quality performances and an assured director creating an intimate, introspective story that very much has the ability to resonate. Encompassed by breathtaking scenery, Land is about searching for a way to cope and the rediscovery of humanity when you least expect it.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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