It was an impressive reporting achievement to track them down, and Penn's film affectionately embodies them in strong performances. In the book, Krakauer traces his movements through the memories of people he encounters on his journey. He sees himself not as homeless, but as a man freed from homes. In centuries past such men might have been saints, retreating to a cave or hidden hermitage, denying themselves all pleasures except subsistence. He keeps journals in which he sees himself in the third person as a heroic loner, renouncing civilization, returning to the embrace of nature.
Why did he disappear from their lives, why was his car found abandoned, where was he, and why, why, why? He had good grades at Emory his future in law school was right there in his grasp. We meet Christopher ( Emile Hirsch) as an idealistic dreamer, in reaction against his proud parents ( William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden) and his bewildered sister ( Jena Malone). Rated PG-13 for thematic content, brief strong language, and partial nudityĬomment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.Sean Penn's spellbinding film adaptation of this book stays close to the source. “Land” is a resonant reminder of the importance of friendship in any and all forms. While Edee may have sought solitude, her salvation comes from the human connection that crossed her path. While “Land” doesn’t quite fit the solo female survival thriller label one might imagine it to be initially, it results in something much more profound, asserting that human connection is integral to healing, and that so are words of encouragement, love and understanding. Fighting to survive reminds her that she does want to live, after all. As she becomes more competent and confident in this existence, she begins to transcend mere survival and starts, indeed, to thrive. This necessary reliance on other people, as well as the tasks required to stay alive in this place, have an effect of working on Edee from the outside in. The views are nature-made, but Bobby Bukowski’s cinematography captures them, and Wright within them, beautifully. She’s often shot simply, in quiet repose, or performing all-consuming physical labor, set against the breathtaking vistas of this place, set to the music of cellist Ben Sollee and string trio Time For Three. The film itself is quiet, too, with Wright’s expressions and gestures speaking volumes about her emotional state. Miguel is hurting, too, and his quiet companionship and steady wisdom is exactly what Edee needs as he never probes beyond her emotional limits. She accepts some guidance from a local man, Miguel (Demián Bichir), who teaches her to trap and hunt. On this land, it’s a challenge to survive alone, which Edee learns the hard way. It’s the solitude and silence she craves. Edee’s trauma and loss are palpable, haunting her consciousness, but she’s not able to speak it aloud. If she freezes to death or dies of starvation (easy to do, in this cabin), she can fulfill the promise she kept to her sister (Kim Dickens). She picks up supplies, tosses her phone in the trash and moves into a dusty cabin with no running water, electricity or a way out.Įdee, who doesn’t want to live, has put herself in a situation where it’s a struggle to survive, by design. She needs to be alone in nature to go through this, and whether or not she comes out on the other side seems irrelevant. In this moment of desperation, a primal instinct takes over, pushing her toward the mountains abutting the Shoshone National Forest. In an opening scene that briefly addresses her emotional state before the mountain, she informs a therapist that she’s unable to share with anyone in her life, because they just want her to be better. Working with a script by Jesse Chatham and Erin Dignam, as well as stunning Alberta, Canada locations (standing in for Wyoming), Wright directs and stars in this simple but resonant story about a woman who finds personal salvation in a remote mountain cabin among a punishing, yet nourishing landscape.Įdee (Wright) just wants to be alone. The wilderness survival thriller has long been a male-dominated subgenre, though in recent years, more female-fronted films have emerged, including Reese Witherspoon’s “Wild” and the Shailene Woodley-starring “Adrift.” In her directorial debut, “Land,” actress Robin Wright crafts a film about a woman battling the wilderness, until she learns to live in it, not fight against it. Robin Wright stars in and directrs "Land." (Daniel Power /Focus Features/TNS)