Matt Damon's Promised Land recommended as a follow-up for Landman viewers

Movieweb recommends the 13-year-old Matt Damon film Promised Land, available on Paramount+, as a strong follow-up for viewers of the series Landman.

Directed by Gus Van Sant, Promised Land stars Damon as Steve Butler, a top negotiator for Global Crosspower Solutions who persuades landowners to sign over drilling rights for natural gas through fracking. His latest assignment is to secure rights in an economically weak Pennsylvania farming town whose residents value passing farms down through generations. The film earned $12 million against a $15 million budget but was named one of the top 10 films of 2012 by the National Board of Review.

The article notes similarities to Landman — a charming, high-performing industry insider, an industry-focused storyline and an examination of hydraulic fracturing and boomtown economics — while saying Promised Land adopts a pro-environment activist stance that drew industry criticism. Phelim McAleer argued the film’s suggestion that fracking contaminated water was wrong and cited EPA investigations; a September 2012 CNBC report said Armstrong County residents protested the film’s portrayal and the Independent Petroleum Association of America also raised concerns. The piece concludes that Promised Land raises environmental questions the Paramount+ series does not, and that fans of the show may find themselves debating those issues.

Key Topics

Culture, Matt Damon, Promised Land, Gus Van Sant, Fracking, Armstrong County