popcorninhell
The Land ranks up there with Enough (2002) and The Town (2010) as the least helpful, least effective titles in recent memory. Its a shame too because the film's well-worn narrative and cautiously on- the-nose themes are enough for most people to dismiss it whole- cloth. It's just another urban, coming-of-age drama hoping to capitalize on white liberal guilt and likely to be picked up and syndicated on IFC, they'll say. Yet there's something more than meets the eye about this film's uncompromising bleakness and belabored, intricate nodus. A none-to-immersive realism that speckles the screen with an understated fervor. We're not convinced these characters are real, but writer/director Steven Caple Jr. thinks they are. It's surprising how much mileage one can get out of that alone.The Land centers on four chronically truant youths Patty Cake (Gavron), Boobie (Walker), Junior (Arias) and Cisco (Lendeborg) during their summer vacation. The four hope to escape their unforgiving neighborhood streets and third track expectations by stealing cars and raising enough cash to support a professional skateboarding career. By doing so however, they cross paths with one of Cleveland's most powerful drug syndicates and sink slowly into a life that may be too crooked for them to handle.The Land follows all the similar story beats we have all come to expect, ever since Boyz n the Hood (1991) became an unexpected success. On the surface, the choices of our heroes are always clear in their truth and consequence, yet for whatever reason they're always stuck making the wrong choices at the wrong time. It can be cumbersome and by the third act it becomes wholly predictable. What an invested audience will see however is a slow motion car crash, where we know where all these little decisions are leading to, but are powerless to stop them.That feeling of powerlessness permeates The Land, giving some a cause for contemplation. Even when the kids are goofing off, skating through blighted streets and abandoned school houses, you can just feel the tension; like the sudden woosh of air before a hammer drops. Cisco, the presumed leader of the gang insists "I don't want anyone to control me,"yet it's clear that he's being constantly molded, manipulated and controlled by an environment that's openly hostile towards him. That environment, by the way includes a manic Kim Coates whose crusty Uncle Steve would be considered Dickensian if he wasn't so outwardly pathetic. Between his uncle's ramshackle Hot Dog stand and his cousin Junior's house, Cisco gets the strong impression he's just another lost cause.What puts The Land just a hair above the average helping of faux- realist poverty porn is Caple's often poetic inclusion of Cleveland a not just a setting but a character in the film. Large portions of the film cast the city in eternal midnight; a Gothic harbinger of sorts. Yet when the four start selling large quantities of "Molly" to transient party-goers, the city opens up with predatory proficiency. The buses and Rapid Transit System are but mucky arteries, the buildings: a facade of wealth and wellness; the carnival hints at possible pleasures - yet it's all a lie.While many films blunt their stories with overdone melodrama or social proselytizing, The Land dares to be bleak, telling a distressing story about the cyclical, cross-generational nature of political and economic violence. Taught to either accept vocational education for jobs that no longer exist, or live a short-lived life of wild despotism, these kids are never really given a chance. In a quest for self-determination, our crew all ultimately become servants of a larger master. It's the audience's embarras de choix as to whether any of them made the right choices.
jtindahouse
There isn't a lot of fun to be had in 'The Land'. It's a very bleak film with quite a depressing view on life. There's one character intended to be the comic relief, but even he comes across quite miserable in most scenes. It's a film that takes itself very seriously. At times this is its biggest strength, and at other times it's its biggest weakness. 'The Land' doesn't have a single likable character. The bad guys are bad and the good guys are bad (just slightly less so). We're meant to root for the four main kids, but you'd have to have some very bizarre morals to want to do that. This is the film's biggest downfall. It's fine if a film is grim because of its story, but when it's dreary purely because of its characters, that's a flaw. It's a little slow getting going, but things do pick up as it goes along. The acting is actually quite impressive from most of the cast. Linda Emond, with limited screen time, really impressed me. She was the most captivating of all the cast and never made the mistake of overacting. Altogether though, there's not a whole lot to see here. I'd call it watchable, without having enough substance to make it anything more than that.
Amari-Sali
Trigger Warning(s): Attempted Rape | Gun Violence | Drug UseCharacters Worth Noting Cisco (Jorge Lendeborg Jr.) | Junior (Moises Arias) | Patty Cake (Rafi Gavron) | Boobie (Ezri Walker) | Elliot (Robert Hunter) | Momma (Linda Emond)Main Storyline (with Commentary)Who in the world wants to take up a trade? Not Cisco's crew. They want to become pro skateboarders but, problem is, the entry fee to get noticed is around $150 and they don't have fancy cameras or computers. They some poor kids from Cleveland. However, things get better as their stealing cars gig leads to Junior finding a camera, and Cisco finding some molly, which the group sells. The issue with them selling Molly though is that it belongs to Momma, who may seem like a sweet small business owner, but is a bit gangster. On top of that, one of her main soldiers, Elliot, is a hot head who, with his biker gang, have no problems firing off some rounds. Leading to the usual question when it comes to movies like this: Who is going to die, when will it happen in the movie, how will everyone react, and why is it the writer chose to end things the way they did?HighlightsMoises Aries, perhaps solely due to his face being recognizable, sort of shined in this to me. Granted, we spent almost as much time with his family as Cisco's, and he was the jokester of the group, but I do feel that he perhaps was the one dim star in this film.Also, Emond as Momma was a bit of a surprise. She is a familiar face, but I feel, ever so slightly, for those like me not too familiar with her filmography, this role was just a smidge, "You better ask somebody."Low PointsOne issue I consistently have with movies is the inability to feel. Characters inspiring empathy, for me, is a driving force behind deciding whether a film is Worth Seeing or TV Viewing. With this film, unfortunately, I find myself rocking between Skip It and TV Viewing. Reason being, the leads, be it because of their characters or the script, or maybe because some of the actors don't have a lot of experience as leads, they just don't latch onto you.Breaking things down a bit, you are given the information needed to recognize these are a bunch of kids. A bunch of kids who don't necessarily want to work hard, for the most part, and simply want easy cash. Not to the point of joining a gang and becoming full-time drug dealers, but if they could become pro skateboarders that would be cool. So, it is established they are kids and think like kids. From there comes the sort of cheap sympathy. Be it Patty Cake having a kid he can barely feed; Junior's mom being young and a single mother of two, and Junior being someone his little sister looks up to; Cisco's mom dying from an overdose and him being raised by one recovering addict and one who has little intention getting clean; then Bobbie who seems like a good kid with a bad crew of friends. Altogether, perhaps on paper, they seem like they can be rich characters, but between the story we are given and the way these characters are portrayed, you don't get any breakout performances out of this. You recognize the accomplishment for them all to have finished this movie and for it to be released, but with tired clichés for backgrounds and no one really taking or given the chance to shine, this movie seems so average that the better word to describe it may be generic.On The FenceRoughly there are 300+ movies within the Movie label and over the course of 4 years watching blockbusters, indie movies, VOD titles, and TV movies, I have learned that comparisons will make most average movies seem like crap. This is an average movie. None of the actors have had consistent starring roles, and for many their filmography isn't that long or this is their first movie. With that you can't compare this film, as some have, to Dope. Yes, names like Erykah Badu, Nas, and Michael K. Williams are attached, but there comes a point where you got to realize for the next generation of actors of color to rise, they have to have the support of those who made it. Granted, their support doesn't mean much more than name recognition, but it still matters.
