The Land (2016)

This 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.

I 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.

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.

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.