Promised Land

Overview

A small-town teacher stands up to a pair of drilling representatives who are determined to exploit the local resources, and receives some unexpected support as the community rallies to drive away the persistent interlopers in this drama from director Gus Van Sant. Steve Butler (Matt Damon) is a corporate salesman with a reputation for getting results. When the company he works for draws up plans to drill for natural gas in an economically depressed farming community, Steve and his partner (Frances McDormand) attempt to convince the locals that they have an opportunity to profit from the project. At first the locals are welcoming, but when venerable teacher Frank Yates (Hal Holbrook) voices objection, concerned locals Dustin (John Krasinski) and Alice (Rosemarie DeWitt) help to launch an effective grassroots campaign against the drilling. In addition to co-producing and co-starring in Promised Land, Damon and Krasinski also collaborated on the screenplay for the film, adapted from a story by Dave Eggers (Where the Wild Things Are, Away We Go).

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Special Features

Extended scene; The making of Promised Land

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Editorial Reviews

All Movie Guide - Perry Seibert

Gus Van Sant's Promised Land -- co-written by stars Matt Damon and John Krasinski from a story by novelist Dave Eggers -- is the kind of socially conscious movie that Robert Redford has been trying to make for pretty much his entire directing career, and it's so much more than a political tract precisely because, unlike Redford, the filmmakers never forget to keep the human stories -- not the issues -- front and center. Damon stars as Steve Butler, a representative for a natural-gas company who, as the movie opens, travels with his colleague Sue Frances McDormand to a small, financially struggling rural community in order to buy up land rights so his business can extract the resources it believes are under the citizens' feet. Because Steve is making this offer at a time when farms are failing and the economy is collapsing, and because he genuinely believes this is the only way he can preserve the sort of small-town life he grew up with, he quickly wins over many townspeople. However, at a community meeting, a local science teacher Hal Holbrook explains to everyone in attendance that "fracking," the method used to extract the gas, has in many cases caused severe ecological damage to water supplies and farm animals in the surrounding area. Just as Steve thinks this will be the only obstacle to his goal, along comes Dustin John Krasinski, an environmental crusader who shows up and canvasses the locals in order to warn them of the ramifications of selling out to Steve's corporation. While that synopsis makes it sound like a turgid, manipulative, liberal-do-gooder movie, Promised Land actually delivers a compelling human drama along with its message. Damon's character isn't a bad guy; he's doing what he thinks is right, and his flirtation with a local woman Rosemarie DeWitt has a natural ease that also helps keep us from ever assuming that Steve is just a corporate shark. The whole film is populated with first-rate actors who understand that little moments are what build memorable characters, and so it's a kick to see skilled performers like Titus Welliver as a local store owner who flirts with Sue -- they've got a genuine, low-key chemistry. This movie comes 15 years after Damon and Ben Affleck became household names thanks to the Van Sant-directed drama Good Will Hunting, and it's hard not to draw comparisons between the two films. Interestingly, Steve is a slick, ingratiating guy who comes to realize he might not have as tight a grip on the world as he thought -- exactly the kind of role that would have fit Affleck perfectly. That being the case, it's fun to see how Damon shades the character more toward earnestness than unctuousness. However, Dustin, with his seemingly unyielding sincerity and Midwestern good cheer, is a stereotypical Damon part, an everyman who appears to know more than he wants you to think. At first, Krasinski plays the part as an edgier version of Jim from The Office, but a key confrontation between Dustin and Steve at a local bar, in which the activist directly challenges the businessman about what he thinks he's capable of, gives Krasinski the opportunity to let forcefulness overtake his usual laid-back vibe. It's some of the best work of his career. Thanks to uniformly good performances, rock-solid direction, and a lived-in humanism, Promised Land manages to avoid the pitfalls that sink so many films like it -- it's the sort of movie that will make right-wing culture warriors bemoan it as a product of "liberal Hollywood," but it possesses an undeniable appeal for everyone.

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Product Details

Release Date: 4/23/2013
UPC: 025192157394
Original Release: 2012

Rating:

Source: Universal Studios
Region Code: 1
Time: 1:47:00
Format: DVD
Sales rank: 17

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Promised Land
1. Chapter 1 [6:50]
2. Chapter 2 [3:10]
3. Chapter 3 [5:40]
4. Chapter 4 [4:39]
5. Chapter 5 [5:55]
6. Chapter 6 [9:36]
7. Chapter 7 [5:22]
8. Chapter 8 [6:17]
9. Chapter 9 [2:45]
10. Chapter 10 [3:59]
11. Chapter 11 [1:48]
12. Chapter 12 [5:48]
13. Chapter 13 [4:47]
14. Chapter 14 [4:50]
15. Chapter 15 [5:49]
16. Chapter 16 [6:16]
17. Chapter 17 [3:16]
18. Chapter 18 [5:13]
19. Chapter 19 [6:44]
20. Chapter 20 [3:05]
21. Chapter 21 [4:29]

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Disc #1 -- Promised Land
Play
Scenes
Bonus
   Extended Scene
   The Making Of Promised Land
Setup
   Spoken Language
      English 5.1
      Español 5.1
   Subtitles
      English SDH Subtitles: On
      Español Subtitles: On
      Français Subtitles: On
      Subtitles: Off
Previews
   The Kids Are All Right
   Beginners
   The Adjustment Bureau
   Big Miracle
   Away We Go
   The American
   Brokeback Mountain
   The Debt
   Play All

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Matt Damon	Steve Butler
John Krasinski	Dustin Noble
Frances McDormand	Sue Thomason
Rosemarie DeWitt	Alice
Hal Holbrook	Frank Yates
Scoot McNairy	Jeff Dennon
Titus Welliver	Rob
Benjamin Sheeler	Attendant
Terry Kinney	David Churchill
Carla Bianco	Waitress
Joe Coyle	Michael Downey
Dorothy Silver	Arlene
Lexi Cowan	Drew's Girl
Tim Guinee	Drew Scott
Sara Lindsey	Claire Allen
Frank Conforti	Coach
Garrett Ashbaugh	Basketball Player
Jerico Morgan	Jericho
Max Schuler	Carson Allen
August G. Siciliano	5th Grader
Ken Strunk	Gerry Richards
Karen Baum	Lynn
Gerri Bumbaugh	Jesse the Bartender
Johnny Cicco	Donny
Erin Baldwin	Buddy's Waitress
Kristin Slaysman	Gwen
Andrew Kuebel	6-year-old Boy
Matthew Ferrante	Drummer
Justin Cook	Guitar #1
Steven Craven	Bass
Bruce Craven	Guitar #2
Gene Williams	Keyboard
Dan Anders	Large Man
Lucas Black	Paul Geary
Sandy Medred	Paul's Girlfriend
Carrington E. Vaughn	Colin
Cain Alexander	Danny Thomason
Joy De La Paz	Motel Receptionist
Lennon Wynn Kuzniar	Lemonade Girl at Gym
Payton Godfrey	Lemonade Girl at Fair

Gus Van Sant	Director, Executive Producer
Christine Beveridge	Makeup
Matt Damon	Producer, Screenwriter
Daniel Clancy	Production Designer
Dave Eggers	Original Story
Danny Elfman	Score Composer
Isabel Freer	Associate Producer
Jonathan King	Executive Producer
John Krasinski	Producer, Screenwriter
Francine Maisler	Casting
Chris Moore	Producer
Juliet Polcsa	Costumes/Costume Designer
Brian Reitzell	Musical Direction/Supervision
Billy Rich	Editor
Mike Sablone	Co-producer
Linus Sandgren	Cinematographer
Ron Schmidt	Executive Producer
Jeff Skoll	Executive Producer
Drew Vinton	Co-producer
David J. Webb	Asst. Director
Gregory A. Weimerskirch	Art Director

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All Movie Guide - Perry Seibert

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