There’s A Room Where The Light Won’t Find You: Land (2021) - Reviewed


After a tragic year of tremendous loss, grief and isolation for the general public at large, Robin Wright storms the gates of Sundance with a personal drama that brings it all right back to the surface with sheer force. Commanding the screen with her absolute control of the written material and her perfected use of expressive facial technique, she stands atop a wonderful creative effort that speaks volumes even during its endearing moments of silence.

Through carefully inflected thoughts and intimate, nature infused scenery that’s focused on a story rooted in character that takes us to the quiet places we’ve all longed for, Wright creates a beautiful portrait of a woman personally challenged by her unwillingness to let go. Despite her pain, light shines through the defined cracks, turning this story of sorrow into one of heart tearing redemption. Land takes long strides to drive one certain message home. We've all experienced sadness. We've all known immeasurable pain. It's how we deal with it that shapes our future. 

At times, we’ve all wanted to leave. We’ve craved a silence that would come at the cost of our personal relationships or livelihoods just to find some peace among some type of seclusion. With Land, Wright chooses to not get “better” from her emotional trauma. But instead isolates, moving her emotions and physical self to a location far away from the pains of her past life. For her, it seems to be the answer. But as a new bond forms with a main character played by the always amazing Demian Bichir, a new existence comes sharply into focus.  



Picking up the remaining pieces and moving to a secluded cabin in the middle of the wild, Wright examines personal struggles as she takes the helm as the central focus of the movie as she also directs from a story written by Jesse Chatham and Erin Dignam. Through the eyes of a woman that’s in the throes of tragedy, Wright uses her years of leading roles to translate how unprepared she is for the challenges of an uncontrolled environment as her physical self begins to deteriorate. Yet, there may be a ray of sunlight at the end of this journey. 

Over the decades, Wright has continually proven herself a worthy dramatic force. From the comedic elements of The Princess Bride to the powerful political heights of House of Cards, she has always been a highlight in whatever project she’s involved in. With this latest, she offers a precision performance that’s carefully controlled under her own extremely skilled guidance in the directorial chair. Unlike other films that pit a self excised person against the dangers of Mother Nature, this is a journey of self preservation from a world that’s destroyed everything around her. 

Much like Into The Wild or Wild, this is a reality based story of a person looking for escape in a world gone awry. Escape is the key. In her search for mortal finality, one woman finds the building blocks of hope where she least expects it. The content is depressing at the core, but the overall semblance of light outweighing the dark is something we could all use right now. 

Land is in theaters on February 11th, 2021. 

-CG