wright track
ROBIN TAKES FLIGHT, HITS HEIGHTS…
LAND TBC OUT 4 JUNE CINEMAS
Centred on a woman escaping grief and well-intentioned sympathy by turning to the outdoors and the numbing succour of self-sufficiency, Robin Wright’s assured directorial debut plays like a companion piece to Nomadland – and that’s no bad thing.
Wright herself plays Edee, who heads from urban Chicago to the wilds of Wyoming, living off the grid in a remote shack with no running water or power. As chilly, manageable autumn turns to brutal winter (bear attacks, sub-zero temperatures, starvation) the seeming death wish of throwing herself to the mercy of the elements looks like it might reunite her with the absent family we’ve caught glimpses of in daydream sequences.
Help arrives in the shape of a taciturn local man (Demián Bichir); ordinarily, you might expect these two solitary people to become close –
perhaps even romantically. But Land is a celebration of silence. Like Nomadland, Land expresses reverence for the balm of routine and the joy of a really good view – of which there’s no shortage. It also offers terrific turns: simultaneously strong and brittle, Wright is able to effortlessly reveal Edee’s inner life with very few words, while Bichir exudes zen-like calm that belies a tragic third-act reveal. An end-game disclosure that seems too neat a plot turn can be forgiven for the elegant way the leads play it, smoothing the way for Land’s final, buoyant note of catharsis and hope. Jane Crowther