The Land
IFC Films | Release Date: July 29, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
50
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 10 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
5
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
ConsequenceCollin BrennanAug 4, 2016
It isn’t the gritty, realistic portrayal of life on the streets that Caple might have been going for — he’s too poetic a filmmaker for that — but it lends shape and color to a truth that too many inner-city kids know too well: It doesn’t matter if you care about the future. The future doesn’t give a shit about you. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyJul 29, 2016
The Land won’t win any awards for originality of premise. And the movie, after that premise comes into play, tends to meander more than a suspense story ought to. It meanders for the best reason, though, which is to help the viewer get to know the characters. Read full review
70
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlJul 28, 2016
The violence, when it comes, is ugly and tragic, as it should be — The Land makes no promises about glory. But the hangout moments fizz with the boys' likable chemistry, and the scenes of suspense, which pick up toward the end, are always arresting and mostly understated, scored to nervous breathing and the ambient bustle of streets at night. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineKeith WatsonJul 25, 2016
Writer-director Steven Caple Jr.'s social-realist tendencies run up against some unconvincing genre elements. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovSep 14, 2016
The Land isn’t a perfect film, but it is a hell of a good start, and director Caple Jr. – and his young cast – are artists to keep an eye on, for sure. Read full review
50
VarietyGeoff BerkshireJul 28, 2016
The Land feels a few drafts away from succeeding on its own terms. Still, there’s enough on screen, beyond Lendeborg’s confident star turn, to label Caple as a filmmaker to watch. Read full review
50
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergJul 28, 2016
As if to personify the movie’s whiplash-inducing split between gloss and grit, the singer Erykah Badu appears as a prostitute — and also contributes a duet with Nas, one of the executive producers, to the soundtrack. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesNoel MurrayJul 28, 2016
The Cleveland locations — along with some memorable visual flourishes via skateboard tricks — show that Caple has a unique eye and a strong sense of place. Here’s hoping that next time he applies them to a fresher story. Read full review
40
The GuardianJordan HoffmanJul 28, 2016
There are sequences of the four prowling the streets on their boards with a fatalist, sinister beauty that show Caple Jr is more than capable of crafting striking compositions. Unfortunately, the jump from image-making to storytelling in this case fails to stick the landing. Read full review
30
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyMay 19, 2016
The film is well-intentioned but dramatically unconvincing, full of clichéd situations and on-the-nose dialogue about kids getting their shot and living their dream. Read full review
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