Originally eyed by Matt Damon as his directorial debut, Gus Van Sant eventually took over to helm the Damon and John Krasinski-written “Promised Land.” Now, about seven minutes of footage has arrived to give folks a generous preview in advance of the film's release later this month.
Set against the backdrop of the fracking debate, the film follows Damon as a salesman who, with Frances McDormand, heads into a small town to convince the locals to sell the rights to their land. Their job is complicated by Hal Holbrook as a respected local school teacher and Krasinski as a smooth grassroots environmentalist. The seven new clips, presented in one long video via Collider, showcase some of the ensemble which also includes Rosemarie DeWitt, Titus Welliver, Lucas Black and Scoot McNairy. While our review found that the film “can’t quite convince,” it’s still expected to figure into the awards race.
“Promised Land” opens in limited release on December 28th. Watch below.
