Still hoping to launch a sneak attack on the awards season, Gus Van Sant's "Promised Land" is lurking in the background. And set to hit theaters right at the tail end of December, Focus Features are hoping to surprise Oscar voters with a drama that puts small town values front and center.
Starring Matt Damon and John Krasinski — who also wrote the script that started as an idea from Dave Eggers — the story follows Steve Butler (Damon), a corporate salesman who arrives in a struggling rural town with his sales partner, Sue Thomason (Frances McDormand), to try and obtain drilling rights for their land. However, their deal comes up against a grassroots campaign led by a local citizen (Krasinski) and a respected schoolteacher (Hal Holbrook). As these images suggest, if you're looking for special effects and explosions, look elsewhere, but the friction between characters and hot button issue of fracking will surely make this one many will be talking about.
"Promised Land" opens on December 28th. Watch the trailer here.
