Directed by Robin Wright
Written by Jesse Chatham and Erin Dignam
Starring Robin Wright and Demian Bichir
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 1 hour and 29 minutes
Currently at Sundance, theaters on 2/12

by Ian Hrabe, Staff Writer

Robin Wright is one of those great actresses whose greatness you forget about until you see her on the screen. Looking at her accolades, I was shocked to see she has never been nominated for an Oscar and didn’t net a single Emmy for her incredible work on House of Cards. I’d say “Always a Bridesmaid” but Robin Wright hasn’t even been invited to the damn wedding! Which is a shame, because in Land she once again proves she is an outstanding actress capable of wringing multitudes out of an emotionally annihilated character. Land is also Wright’s first time in the director’s chair, and while the results aren’t as great as her performance, there is still a lot to like about her work. 

Land follows the bereaved Edee Mathis, who is moving off the grid into the Wyoming wilderness to cope with losing her husband and child. When the winter comes and the living is incredibly hard, suicide is on the table, and despite nearly succumbing to the snow and cold she is rescued by a handsome frontiersman played by Demian Bichir (The Hateful Eight, Weeds, The Nun) and, with the help of a nurse from town, they bring her back to life. The problem is Edee doesn’t necessarily want to live, and she almost resents the pair for saving her life. The rest of the film chronicles Edee’s journey to learn to live again after an unspeakable tragedy. 

Does this all sound a little melodramatic? Yes it does. Is it a little melodramatic? Yes it is. And while the film’s first act is a one-note sad lady fest, once she almost dies and starts working through the grief is when the film really figures itself out. Watching the relationship between Wright and Bechir’s characters blossom is beautiful, and one of the best things about it is that it isn’t a will they/won’t they affair. It’s purely platonic, because we learn that they are both self-isolating in the wilderness to work through their traumas. She insists she doesn’t want him to come around, but he comes around anyway. And that’s pretty much what this movie is, all set amongst jawdroppingly gorgeous shots of the Rocky Mountains.

Land is a fine movie, but Wright’s future career as a director is what is most interesting. Though this is her debut feature, I was shocked to find out that she directed 10 episodes out of House of Cards’ 73 episode runs. That’s a high margin, and illustrates that Wright has a lot more directing experience than I thought she did going into this one. However, that casts into doubt my reasoning for why this film is so uneven. The first chunk of the film definitely feels a bit amateurish and none of the emotional punches she is throwing land, but the more subtle emotional devastation towards the film’s end is like a world class haymaker. Part of the problem can definitely be attributed to the script, but I feel like a great director can iron out the mediocre parts of a screenplay. That seems a little unfair, but I was basically groaning through the film’s first 30 minutes and had totally bought in by minute 90. Alas, if this film’s goal was to make me incredulous about Robin Wright’s lack of Oscars and to get me intrigued about her future directorial efforts, it definitely did the trick.