Download and watch Promised Land movie online. ;)<br /><br />Corporate salesman Steve Butler (Damon) arrives in a rural town with his sales partner, Sue Thomason (McDormand). With the town having been hit hard by the economic decline of recent years, the two outsiders see the local citizens as likely to accept their company's offer, for drilling rights to their properties, as much-needed relief. What seems like an easy job for the duo becomes complicated by the objection of a respected schoolteacher (Holbrook) with support from a grassroots campaign led by another man (Krasinski) who counters Steve both personally and professionally.<br /><br />It's becoming more and more rare for films to be allowed to exist in an area between the big expensive franchise pictures, the Oscar-adored prestige pieces, the disposable genre flicks and the ultra low-budget independents. There used to be a time when you could have a film that existed somewhere else, a simple story that focused first and foremost on character as opposed to high concepts or genre thrills. These pictures didn't make the most money and they didn't earn a lot of awards attention, but for those who sought them out they were often treated to a unique experience that was able to pull on emotional strings without ever hoping to achieve something on a much grander scale. Promised Land is one of those pictures, and it's a type of film that I deeply wish we saw more of in the current cinematic climate. Written by Matt Damon and John Krasinski, this is a small-town American tale centered on an earnest protagonist who is forced to take a hard look in the mirror when his ideals are shattered and the tables are turned against him. The script doesn't paint things as black-and-white as they seem at first, with shifting motivations and some unexpected turns later in the game that really tilt things on their axis. Promised Land is the kind of simple picture that filmmakers such as Frank Capra and Billy Wilder excelled at in their better days and while this one doesn't quite exist on the higher levels of those great artists, it's certainly hitting in the same ballpark. Unfortunately, the film industry doesn't have much room for these kind of mid-level pictures anymore and it's not a surprise that this one was met with no major acclaim or box- office receipts. Missing it would be a mistake though, as it's a superbly written and acted morality tale that presents a welcome contrast to the kind of larger pictures that dominate most of the year these days. Originally slated to be Damon's directorial debut, he instead elected to keep himself restricted to the screenplay and the starring role, bringing in former collaborator Gus Van Sant to helm the picture. Damon portrays Steve Butler, a salesman for a natural gas company who arrives in a small Anytown, U.S.A. in order to buy up their land so they can drill into their natural resources. Arriving with his partner Sue Thomason (Frances McDormand), what starts off as an easy job turns complicated when schoolteacher Frank Yates (Hal Holbrook) advises the townsfolk to educate themselves on the company's techniques and an environmentalist named Dustin Noble (John Krasinski) comes in to fight against Butler and his group. Promised Land is a topical story that utilizes the economic crisis as a key theme in its depiction of the farm workers in this kind of small town that exists all over the country, with people who were shattered by the recession and are fighting to keep themselves alive. Butler's company could easily be seen as a greedy corporation looking to profit on the misfortune of others, but Butler himself has the kind of personal experience that keeps him believing that he is doing the right thing, no matter how much things may point to the contrary. When faced with the potentially nefarious operations of his company, Butler is quick to insist that he is not a bad guy, and Damon plays him with an earnestness that makes you believe that. As the opposition from Noble and the pressure from his superiors mounts and begins to push Steve into a corner, Damon's performance takes on some heavier shades that really speak to his skills as an actor. Despite the bad things his company is capable of, I found it impossible not to root for this guy, and I deeply felt for him when he began to hit his lowest points. Damon's long been an underrated actor who doesn't get the credit he deserves simply because he's so effortlessly natural in most of his portrayals, and this is a character that makes great use of that authenticity he brings to every role. There's one scene in particular when he's at his low point and is confronted by some of the townsfolk where he launches into this angry tirade about what he labels "f-ck you money" that I found especially impressive. Promised Land came and went without a strong reception and that's not a big surprise in the current state of the industry, but it's a shame for multiple reasons. Not only is it just a great film on any level, it also represents a dying market in American cinema that I had always found myself particularly drawn towards. The intelligent Capra-esque script, the ace ensemble and the assured, well-paced direction from Gus Van Sant all gel smoothly in forming a wholly impressive picture that I rank among the best of the year. There's also a warm, very dry sense of humor to it that is woven in comfortably with the richer themes and darker dramatic turns that it takes over its duration. Unlike many of the films this year, there's something that resonated firmly with me here and it's got a topicality that would speak to a lot of the American audience -- if they saw it, that is.
