Land (2021)

Land review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

Robin Wright takes full control of her directorial debut with a quiet, introspective, and contemplative experience. Starring in her own film, there’s a certain freedom that comes with such a slow-paced picture about wilderness melancholy and deep grief. Not all of it sticks and there’s a questionable route the picture takes in its final act of seeking relief but the ambition present is quite admirable.

Wright plays Edee, a woman who has just recently survived a near-death experience but has lost people close to her. She has lost her allure with life and decides to take time away from the world at a secluded cabin in the mountains. This seems to be less about an escape from the world and more of an escape from life itself. She is clearly not capable of living on her own, unable to chop wood or prepare for an attack by a bear. But since she’s still tortured by visions of the past, she seems content to go out this way, as though she were fulfilling an ancient tradition of letting herself drift out to sea to die. While not fully suicidal, she does seem accepting of whatever fate the cruel hand of nature will deal her, whether it’s tumbling off a cliff or freezing to death in the winter.

Not willing to let her take that plunge is the local hunter Miguel, coming across her body when she stumbles into a cabin. He helps nurse her back to health without compensation, coming by to occasionally check on her status and share news of the small town not too far out. Though Edee remains a hermit, she welcomes the company, realizing there’s more to life after death. She realizes not only from the tender talks with Miguel but also taking in the tranquil beauty of the picturesque landscapes showcased in the gorgeous cinematography.

Land is a film that works best when it lets Wright’s expressions and the wonders of nature do all the talking. Without even revealing her full backstory in the first act, we get a real sense of her pain, sticking with her through all the unpleasantness she seeks to bury. There’s a moment early on where she feels at her lowest and turns a shotgun barrel to her chin. It’s too soon for her to die, sure, but that hopelessness comes through her gritted teeth, bitter breathing, and lethargic eyes. It’s moments like these which make the calm moment of wilderness allure all the more pleasing and a break from the somber elements.

The film itself is also a bit tragic in that the more Edee and Miguel open up to each other, the less compelling they become as characters. There’s so many moments where it feels like they don’t have to say much and yet their running bit is talking about Star Wars and how Edee thinks Miguel is like Yoda, despite Miguel having never seen a Star Wars movie. Some aspects become a bit hard to swallow as well, the way Edee takes interest in Miguel’s daughter with overlapping similarities to Edee’s past, opening up far more than I expected her to for a stranger, even one she has come to know rather well. And though there’s a tear-jerker finale to their relationship, it’s one that almost feels forced for the bittersweet climax than a genuine progression of their character.

Land has its hills and valleys but is overall a rather pleasing picture. Wright’s direction succeeds at painting a portrait of a damaged woman in a towering wilderness, just enough to overlook her less compelling scripting. She has a lot of potential that I’m more looking forward to what she’ll craft next.