Promised Land (2012)

A salesman for a natural gas company experiences life-changing events after arriving in a small town, where his corporation wants to tap into the available resources.

Director:

Gus Van Sant

Writers:

John Krasinski (screenplay), Matt Damon (screenplay)

Stars:

Matt Damon, Frances McDormand, John Krasinski

3 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matt Damon	...	Steve Butler
Benjamin Sheeler	...	Attendant
Terry Kinney	...	David Churchill
Carla Bianco	...	Waitress
Joe Coyle	...	Michael Downey
Hal Holbrook	...	Frank Yates
Dorothy Silver	...	Arlene
Frances McDormand	...	Sue Thomason
Titus Welliver	...	Rob
Lexi Cowan	...	Drew's Girl
Tim Guinee	...	Drew Scott
Sara Lindsey	...	Claire Allen
Frank Conforti	...	Coach
Garrett Ashbaugh	...	Basketball Player
Jericho Morgan	...	Jericho (as Jerico Morgan)

Storyline

Corporate salesman Steve Butler (Matt Damon) arrives in a rural town with his sales partner, Sue Thomason (McDormand). With the town having been hit hard by the economic decline of recent years, the two outsiders see the local citizens as likely to accept their company's offer, for drilling rights to their properties, as much-needed relief. What seems like an easy job for the duo becomes complicated by the objection of a respected schoolteacher (Holbrook) with support from a grassroots campaign led by another man (Krasinski) who counters Steve both personally and professionally.

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Plot Keywords:

propaganda | salesman | corporation | small town | natural gas | 

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Taglines:

What's your price?

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rob, a store clerk who appears throughout the movie, is played by Titus Welliver, immediately recognizable to Lost (2004) fans as the "Man in Black." Subtle homage is played to this in Sue's final visit to the store. The vantage point is from within the store. The glass door, through which the viewer sees Sue approaching, is slightly off center and the camera pulled back just enough to show some local ads and announcements. Most of them are illegible, but one stands out with big bold letters across the top that read "L O S T" (followed by some smaller print and pictures of a cat).

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Goofs

Yates is said to have an M.A. from MIT, but MIT does not grant Master of Arts degrees.

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Quotes

[last lines]
Steve Butler: You the owner of this place?

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Crazy Credits

Through most of the end credits, the camera zooms out to a wide shot of the town where the film takes place.

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Connections

Referenced in Life Itself (2014)

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Soundtracks

Nevermore
Written by Anya Singleton, Antoan Salih Towe, and Michael Aarons
Performed by Anya Singleton
Courtesy of Crucial Music Corporation

User Reviews

tug of war

The movie is filmed in heartbreakingly beautiful rural Pennsylvania. A charming salesman Steve Butler/Matt Damon tries to convince the people sign over the natural gas fracking rights to their properties. It is like a tug of war, where each side in the conflict gains a temporary small advantage. Each side gets to pitch their side with conviction. There almost no hard information about fracking, but there is lots of emotion for both sides. It is "fuck you" greed vs nostalgia for an inevitably dying rural lifestyle. The movie never takes the environmental case seriously, but it turns out there is a reason you can forgive them that. The case for preservation is made mostly visually where the camera does time lapse or panning shots over the amazing landscapes. The rest is sentimental hokum.

You watch Steve gradually become more and more disillusioned with what he has been doing. The movie builds to the climax when Steve tells all to a big audience.

The main thing that did not work for me is the immaculate giant white homes with manicured lawns even single people live in, yet they are all supposed be on the edge of bankruptcy. The other is the witty small town bar banter. In reality, it would be much much more dumbed down.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA United Arab Emirates

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 January 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Promised Land

Filming Locations:

Apollo, Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$173,915, 30 December 2012

Gross USA:

$7,597,898

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$11,039,031

Company Credits

Production Co:

Focus Features, Participant, Imagenation Abu Dhabi FZ

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1