The Dry Land
Freestyle Releasing | Release Date: July 30, 2010 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
47
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 10 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
6
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Boxoffice MagazineSteve Ramos
Ferrera proves herself to be just as talented in dramatic roles. Read full review
75
New York PostV.A. Musetto
A gut-wrenching look at the human cost of war. Read full review
70
Village VoiceNick Pinkerton
The Dry Land does slip inside the inescapable, closed-circle logic of despair, and O'Nan's shy, precarious performance keeps you with him to the edge of the abyss. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
There's nothing in director Ryan Piers Williams' script that elevates this film above others with similar themes. But his heartfelt approach can be seen in the committed cast -- led by O'Nan but also including ­Valderrama, whose quietly ­authentic work is a nice surprise. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
A strong first film, and with a better-honed script, Williams should prove to be a director to watch. Read full review
50
NPRScott Tobias
A little focus might have helped. Or not: The Dry Land seems intent to tick off a checklist of PTSD symptoms without animating them with fresh details or creative life. It's cloaked in an earnestness that suffocates. Read full review
40
The New York TimesJeannette Catsoulis
Sincere performances elevate an underdeveloped script and awkward filmmaking in The Dry Land, a coming-home drama as inexpressive as its traumatized lead. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesSheri Linden
Shaped more for message than for convincing narrative impact, The Dry Land ends up feeling like a PSA to raise awareness of post-traumatic stress disorder. Read full review
40
Time OutDavid Fear
Only jackanapes and jackasses would deny that the experience of war can cause psychic damage, but does that mean we have to sit through such a schematic, dogmatic melodrama about the subject? Read full review
33
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
A painfully earnest drama about post-traumatic stress disorder that sticks so closely to the soldiers-coming-home template, writer-director Ryan Piers Williams seems to be diligently working through a checklist of returning-warrior-movie clichés. Read full review
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