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
From metacritic.com
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Title: Promised Land (2012)
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3 wins & 6 nominations.
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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) |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Plot Synopsis
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. Written by Focus Features
Taglines:
What's your price?Genres:
DramaParents Guide:
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Details
Language:
EnglishRelease Date:
4 January 2013 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Terra Prometida See more »Edit
Box Office
Budget:
$15,000,000 (estimated)Opening Weekend USA:
$173,915, 30 December 2012Gross USA:
$7,597,898Cumulative Worldwide Gross:
$8,138,788Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Color:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
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Written by Hank Williams
Performed by Frances McDormand (uncredited)
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Matt Damon previously worked with Gus Van Sant in "Good Will Hunting". Damon also wrote the screenplay for "Good Will Hunting". See more »Goofs
Near the beginning of the film, when Frank Yates drives into town in his pickup and waves to a pedestrian on the sidewalk, the rear window of his truck is open. As he rolls through the stop sign just ahead, the rear cab window is fully closed. See more »Crazy Credits
Through most of the end credits, the camera zooms out to a wide shot of the town where the film takes place. See more »Soundtracks
I Saw the LightWritten by Hank Williams
Performed by Frances McDormand (uncredited)
See more »
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Gus Van Sant has tackled a number of political and social issues in his movies. "Promised Land" looks at the issue of hydraulic fracturing, commonly called fracking. Matt Damon plays an executive from an energy company trying to convince a town to allow the process in their vicinity. Meanwhile, an environmentalist tries to convince people otherwise.
I have liked most of Van Sant's movies, and it's good that this movie is addressing a process that has devastated entire regions. Indeed, the fracking industry criticized the movie's depiction of the process as destructive (surprise, surprise). Unfortunately, what happens at the end does not seem realistic. It reminded me of what happens in Bill Forsyth's "Local Hero". Other than that the movie is a perceptive character study of Damon's amoral exec, the sort of man who's totally in it for the money. Mostly a good movie, understanding that what happens at the end probably wouldn't happen in real life.