Country (2021)

Directed by: Robin Wright | 90 minutes | drama | Actors: Robin Wright, Demián Bichir, Sarah Dawn Pledge, Kim Dickens, Warren Christie, Finlay Wojtak-Hissong, Brad Leland, Jordan Bullchild, Dave Trimble, Rikki-Lynn Ward, Mia McDonald, Barb Mitchell

Robin Wright seized the opportunity to hone her directing skills, which she developed with the TV series “House of Cards”, with both hands. The fact that there was no actress yet for the lead role in her feature film debut ‘Land’ turned out to be the last hurdle and because of time pressure, Wright decided to take on the role of Edee herself.

Edee struggles with enormous sadness. We see her for the first time when she reluctantly sits on the couch with a therapist. What exactly happened in her past remains shrouded in mystery, but it is clear that Edee has lost her will to life. The next step is to leave civilization. Edee buys a huge tract of land in Wyoming (the least populous state in the United States), where there is an abandoned wooden cabin. With a trailer full of stuff, including canned food to help her through the first period, she reaches her new home under the guidance of the broker. She has already thrown away her cell phone. The last link with civilization disappears when, at Edee’s request, the broker sends someone to pick up her rented car and trailer.

Edee’s conscious choice to go through life as a hermit from now on may feel unwise, given the fact that she moves into the house rather unprepared. She has no taste for chopping wood and her plan to eat what the land offers her proves difficult too, if you don’t know how to hunt or fish. So it is not surprising that when she visits the toilet, in the middle of winter, she gets stuck in the outdoor toilet, because a brown bear is walking around on her property. Leaving the door of her house open and giving the bear free rein to mess things up is a mistake she only makes once.

However, Edee’s state of mind keeps her from making logical choices. She even seems to be at peace with the fact that she will not survive this perilous adventure for long. Soon it is 2-0 for nature, when Edee almost dies of hunger and cold. The arrival of Miguel (Demián Bichir), a local hunter, who saves her life, slowly changes her outlook on life. We witness the growing relationship between the two, with him respecting her wishes to be deprived of the outside world as much as possible.

Wright proves perfect for this role. Her intense grief, born of grief, is palpable, although there is little dialogue. Wright doesn’t have to cry to express her emotions. Her interplay with Bichir is very nice to see and it is a relief that the clichéd route is avoided. Yet there is no emotional bond with the viewer, perhaps because so little is said and the dialogues are not the strongest point of the film. In addition, the story of a flight to nature seems all too familiar and Wright does little to give it an original twist.

A big plus is the cinematography. While it’s virtually impossible to get a bad picture of the breathtaking nature of the Rocky Mountains in Canada (where the film was shot), cinematographer Bobby Bukowski does everything he can to make the viewer fall in love with the environment. Time heals all wounds, but even more than an enchanting environment helps the connection with a soulmate.