Think quarantining in your house or apartment for the last year was isolating? Try going to the middle of nowhere, Wyoming maybe, then even further into that scenic abyss, ditching all communication and trying to survive weather, solitude, and a lot of personal demons. Such is the journey of Robin Wright’s lost soul, Edie, in Land.
As you are presented with Edie’s stubborn quest, you might waver from curiosity, to judgement, as it becomes increasingly clear that she’s not stopping and those loved-ones we hear on the phone speak the truth – what is she doing and how in the world will she survive?
Scoff as you sit upon your couch watching, but Wright’s character draws you in with the determination and power only the deeply wounded can know. For her, there is nothing left to lose.
So we cringe as she’s proven woefully unprepared for a hermit’s life in a cabin, unable to chop wood or catch and kill her own food for survival. Things get dark, but, we learn, that might be what Edie is looking for.
The film, directed by Wright, is simple, scary, and beautiful in both landscape and feeling. Whether or not the introduction of a potential saviour fleshes out or diminishes the story is up to you, but the extended scenes of Wright alone and desperate are so stark you might find yourself cheering for even a cartoon bear to come to her aid.
Land is a simple, imperfect, very different kind of movie. In these odd times, it should make you think about what matters, and what you’d think about if all you had was time to think.
A former ABC National, Dallas and Atlanta radio personality, Martina O'Boyle is now making movies and covering culture in London, Dublin, and as far in Europe as the cheapie flights will take her, for Pop Culture Beast.