Believable drama, and quite atmospheric
Though thought Michael Kenneth Williams who is such a great character actor was totally under used in his role as one of the teenagers father.
3 out of 5 found this helpful
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bryangary6526 June 2018
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palomita-1506815 August 2016Watch dope after this film for a good contrast.
To be honest the shock at the end (youll know if you've watched it) pulls it all together, to really push across a message thats hard to ignore.
This film is about dreams, friendship, greed and most of all reality. Yes it is a bleak film at times, but I feel unfortunately life is often bleak - especially when born into bleak circumstances as many people are. There are a lot of morals to be found in this story, and something which I have to say i love is the absence of romance. This film was about friendship, family and all the other factors involved., and didn't feel the need to pimp itself up with a romantic story line irrelevant to the story. -
bkrauser-81-31106431 August 2016The 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. -
Amari-Sali6 August 2016Trigger Warning(s): Attempted Rape | Gun Violence | Drug Use
Characters 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?
Highlights
Moises 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 Points
One 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 Fence
Roughly 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. -
Going in to watch this movie, I did not have high hopes. It seemed to be a tired theme, judging by the write-up. Though it was not groundbreaking or a 'first of its type', it was thoroughly enjoyable, with some very solid acting accompanied by some excellent music. I think that this film will definitely appeal to a teen audience, much like the classic 'basketball diaries' did for me when I was a teenager.
With a solid plot, it actually feels more like a documentary at times, than a movie. It does pull on the heart-strings a little, and will hit home for some with the brutal neighborhood and lifestyle that some less fortunate children are brought up in, but not in a cliché way.
Overall I feel a 7/10 does it justice. -
brittanydiane15 July 2018If you want to watch a really depressing movie this is it. This movie was something that as you watch you can already foretell what's going to happen in the next scene. Wasn't really out of the box or different from anything that you would imagine this film to be about from reading the summary. That's about it.
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noawareness12 August 2016I imagine a lot of people will say that this movie is soaked in style and missing some substance but I think that is easily said when a film is as stylish as The Land.. I would say The Land was a cross between Dope and The Basketball Diaries, which is a huge compliment. Great acting, believable script, incredible cinematography and one of the best, most fitting soundtracks I've heard in a very long time. If you enjoyed Dope, Whiteboys, The Basketball Diaries, Kids or any other movie in this category, be sure to check out The Land.
The film is basically a rise and fall tale of 4 teenagers who want to become professional skateboarders. They do some fairly questionable things to get by, until one day, they hit the jackpot. After a fairly upbeat second act, things start to get a little serious for these kids.
It's a story we're all used to by now but rarely is it done with such class. Good work by everyone involved. -
jtindahouse8 August 2016There 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. -
niutta-enrico19 August 2016This is the first (full-length) movie written and directed by Steven Caple Jr, a Clevelander from Tremont, where the movie (whose atmosphere sounds quite autobiographic) is based.
It's a good film, already vastly celebrated at 2016 Sundance Film Festival, dealing with the universal theme of coming of age without expectations, money, family or education. And Mr Caple's glance to mankind (as in any great artist) is a loving one. Even the title seems to express Author's feelings for his own roots, instead than a relation to the story itself.
Some actors are unknown but you will probably recognize Machine Gun Kelly, the unbelievable Erykah Badu and the great Kim Coates. -
Never wanted the movie to end, it was a very good movie, the ending of it wasn't too good because of what happens to Junior but it did add that thrilling feeling when Cisco gets his revenge. The violence is basically a reality of some of the stuff that happens in places like Cleveland, Compton and more. I wish that there was more of a happy ending for example at least one of them succeed in becoming a professional skate boarder.
I really loved how they showed the realism with all the gangs around the neighbour hood it was very unexpected but still very good. Also I think all of the actors played the characters perfect.
Overall the movie was exceptional and I would love for there to be a number 2 -
apurvapandey-4723622 December 2018This movie does a great job of showing how the naivete of youth can have disastrous consequences for the kids and their extended families. The plot plays out in a way that causes the audience to share in the anxiety of the characters
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smithai13 March 2019Four teenage boys commit to making it out of the inner city of their hometown Cleveland by pursuing their dreams of becoming professional skateboarders. Because of lack of funds they needed to get into tournaments they had to depend on illegal ways to obtain money. This landed them in an extremely sticky situation that will test their brotherhood and their morals. After watching The Land we can see that this stands apart from other coming of age movies and stories. It stands differently than all of the high school romance and high school drama stories who are all very similar and overused plot themes. These boys have real big, real world problems. Violence problems, poverty problems, family problems. None of the cheesy stuff. The movie is also relatable because of how the characters change throughout. A main example would be how Cisco changes in the movie. In a time where there is more violence than ever, The Land shows the even more harsh violence that is not shown on the news. The stuff that happens daily in big cities but usually goes unnoticed. This is showed in one scene when guys apart of a drug queenpin shoot drive by and shoot someone on their dirt bikes. There are also many examples that show change and many high schoolers go through lots of changes. One example is how cisco changes. He is all for doing the illegal things and he is the one who had the idea. But he was the first to realise that they are not cut up for the stuff. He tries to quit but no one else wants to. I recommend this movie for kids ages 13-19 because they can relate to this the most. These kids are coming of age the hard way like many kids do. This is a very entertaining and unique movie that is not like many others i have seen.