Promise (to the) Land

Promised Land is a long, slow-moving film that has as its roots the making of a political statement: the land is entrusted to mankind, who must promise to care for it and leave it to the following generation to continue the cultivation and care of the land. Once the land has been abused, it may no longer be able to sustain life and/or provide life for those who follow. And, we don't want that to happen, do we?

The last 15 minutes of the film are pretty good, but the first 2 hours? The old saying about beating a dead horse applies: make the point in a meaningful way, instead of trying to get a dead horse up on his feet to plow the fields. The point in this film is fracking, but the only meaningful conversation about fracking comes from Hal Holbrook, who plays the part of a retired scientist who is teaching high school chemistry. He knows whereof he speaks, but the key to winning over the towns' people is to promise them lots of money in exchange for their land, a tactic that is used with alarming success in most businesses, not just in mining.

The key to the film is the answer to the question: Will the people sign over their land or will they not sign over their land? About half-way through, I no longer cared.

Matt Damon is good in the role of the Globe spokesperson, as is Frances McDormand, who comes across as a hard-driving career businesswoman who will do whatever it takes to get the job done because that pays for her son's private school and supports her lifestyle. She doesn't believe in taking anything personally, but Matt Damon's character takes everything personally, which leads to the inevitable conclusion when he's fired and she's hired to replace him. John Krasinski stands out, especially in one scene where he presents a science lesson to a grade school class to make an important point about fracking. However, it's a great scene lost in the on-going conversation about whether or not the town will unite against the greedy Globe corporation and give up instant wealth to save the "promised land."

Maybe part of the problem with the film is the incest: everyone who is part of the film has several parts to play, such as actor, screen-writer, and producer Matt Damon. If we're too close to what's going on, we often fail to get the "big picture," and that's what this film lacks: someone to see the big picture and realize it needs to be edited to a much more viewable/manageable length.