In the Land of Women
Review by David Bjerre
Genre: Drama Queen
Keywords:
Broken heart, cancer, love with an older woman.
Did you know that...
Acclaimed director Lawrence Kasdan is the father of Jon Kasdan. JoBeth Williams, who plays Adam Broody's mother, starred in Lawrence's "The Big Chill" (1983).
REVIEW
The story of the loveable young man, who travels out into the world - despite the fact that he's already wise beyond his years - ends up in a quirky little place to come to some sort of decision about life, and consequently affects those around him, is a distinct fictional creation that has very little to do with reality.
In this particular incarnation we meet Carter (Adam Broody of "The O.C." fame) who travels to a small town in Michigan to take care of his dying grandmother. What he really wants is to get away from his hectic life in L.A. where he writes softcore porn movies and has just been dumped by his on-the-brink-of-stardom model girlfriend. For years he has been working on a script about his high school experience and he figures this might be a perfect opportunity to write that story, and get the ex out of his mind.
Across the street from his grandmother's house resides the Hardwicke family, where homemaker Sarah (Meg Ryan) lives a seemingly flawless life of quiet desperation with a husband she doesn't love, and a daughter, Lucy (Kristen Stewart), who resents her exactly because she has chosen to live that life.
Carter runs into Sarah who's out walking the dog and instantly connects with her. Before long the two of them bond on a daily basis, and Sarah encourages Lucy to go to a movie with Carter, because he's lonely and heartsick, though what she really wants is to spend time with him herself. Thus the two Hardwicke women both end up drawn to Carter, as a confidante and impossible love interest. By watching these two women go up against each other, Carter finally begins to come to terms with the way his own life has played out.
"In the Land of Women" is perhaps best described as a flawed little gem. Flawed, for several reasons. Gem, because despite its flaws it's still engaging on an emotional level, even if it doesn't quite hold up on an intellectual level.
In what must count as his first foray into "serious film making" (whatever that means), Adam Broody attempts to refine the "loveable nerd" character he perfected on his hit TV show, and therein lies the film's first major flaw. A guy like Carter doesn't exist in real life. In real life nerds aren't that well-adjusted, good looking, or socially capable. He, like his journey of discovery, is a fictional shortcut created to allow the writer to play out certain scenarios.
Are you ready to make history?"
Carter and Sarah have barely met before they start to share the most incredibly grown-up conversations. It's cute, it's sweet, but it doesn't feel particularly real. The connection between Carter and Sarah develops under the assumption that the "loveable nerd" character is real, and a result this relationship suffers too, which is a shame since it's the backbone of the story.
"In the Land of Women" often feels like its based on other movies as opposed to real life. That's a awful thing to say, for all I know this is based on the writer's deeply personal experiences, but that doesn't change the fact that to me the story came across a little too polished and neat. Like it's afraid to go deep into the characters, which is not to say that it's shallow, but rather that it's seems unwilling to really stir things up.
Still, the scenes between Ryan and Broody work really well. And even though Broody has a tough time distinguishing Carter from his "The O.C." character he shows that given the right material he could very well graduate to the grown-up league.
As for Ryan, I really wish she had done more movies like this. I could never stand her in those airhead comedies she used to do, and her dramas always seemed a little gimmicky to me. "In the Cut" (2003) was laughable, "Proof of Life" (2000) was the punchline to a celebrity joke, "City of Angels" (1998) was never quite as moving as it should have been, and "When a Man Loves a Woman" (1994) was a valiant but nonetheless misguided attempt to show the effects of alcoholism on a relationship. Since her fall from grace in the wake of the whole Russel Crowe affair she took a break. She was last seen - well, actually she wasn't - in the 2004 boxing film "Against the Ropes", and whatever she spent the three years between these two films doing, it did her some good. I'm ready for more Ryan now, as long as she stays away from the comedies.
Honorable mention has to go to Kristen Stewart who blows my mind on a regular basis. She's got the angry brooding teenage girl persona down, but even though she often plays similar characters, she always manages to find a way to make them seem immediate and real. She's one of the best young actresses of her generation, who's all the more appealing because her defining characteristic is her heart, not how much skin she shows.
Towards the end "In the Land of Women" starts to form a circle, but it doesn't quite manage to complete it by the end credits. In fact the film seems a little rushed here and there. A story like this can easily pass the 2-hour mark, so at 97 minutes it feels as if "In the Land of Women" is missing something. Maybe it's missing some time, to allow the story to play out more naturally. Maybe it's just missing a bit of weight.
As I said earlier, "In the Land of Women" is a flawed film, but it's still recommendable. Like life, it's unlikely to satisfy you completely, but in light of other options, not too bad after all.
