Jeremy of The Daily Rotation wrote, "I’ve never really cared too much for Gus Van Sant‘s work. I’m not exactly sure why, but the films of his that I have seen really haven’t moved me all that much. This makes it incredibly hard for me to actively want to go and see his latest film, especially when it’s about two gas company reps. that are being sent to a small town to try and get them to sell their land. Promised Land doesn’t sound too appealing or for the lack of a better word interesting, yet because of Matt Damon and John Krasinski‘s performances and screenplay it becomes just that; an interesting story about small town communities and what they stand for."
ges-sa.com | "What would you do if you just got the promotion of a life time, but what if that promotion might cost you your moral values? This is the story of Steve Butler and how he found his moral compass still works.
The movie is Hollywood’s look at Fracking. This film to me plays off more as an documentary on what lengths big Natural gas company’s would go to get land for fracking. The locations is typical farmland and nothing very spectacular about it. The soundtrack is done by Danny Elfman, best know for his work on the 1989 Cult classic Tim Burton’s Batman, Army of Darkness and a bunch of other award wining movies. Fun fact: the movie was partly financed by a Media group owned by the United Arab Emirates…A major player in the oil field."
Jeremy of We Got This Covered wrote, "Acclaimed director Gus Van Sant returns to the big screen with a performance-driven drama that focuses on a small farming community as a big gas company sweeps the land with big buyout contracts. Matt Damon and John Krasinski lead this informative and engaging human drama that weighs in on the morals of doing what you think is right inside, even if it goes against everything that you’ve learned on the outside. Promised Land is a surprisingly well-made film that is worth the viewing."
CPC:
In an age where energy and the environment are at the forefront of politics, society is often bombarded by these issues as we find ourselves caught in the crossfire between overly sensitive treehuggers and corrupt corporations who only lust after money. As is often the case, film has found itself to be a prime medium to serve as a battlefield for this debate. The problem there is that, all too often, such films are so chock-full of propaganda that one becomes exhausted by these issues which aren’t quite as cut and dry as either side would have you believe. Such is not the case, though, with this understated yet compelling drama.
