35 years ago, Robin Wright made her cinematic debut via a long-forgotten effort titled Hollywood Vice Squad. The next year she found herself in a more memorable project called The Princess Bride, a flick that allowed her to eventually achieve stardom.

Decades later, Wright tries on a new role as director. 2021’s Land becomes her initial stab as a feature filmmaker, though she continues as actor here too.

After tragedy strikes, Edee Holzer (Wright) finds it difficult to cope. Though she pursues therapy and other methods of recovery, these fail to really help her.

Disconnected and discontent, Edee retreats to the rugged landscape of the Rockies, where she attempts to find meaning in her life amidst the unforgiving terrain. Edee struggles in this setting and confronts a mix of challenges.

“Person in pain who gets back to nature” doesn’t exactly offer a novel narrative. We’ve seen many stories of this sort over the years, so the question becomes what Land can bring to the table.

As told here, Land doesn’t lean toward the plot-heavy side of the street. Most tales like this find ways to involve outside parties – usually others who stumble across the characters’ paths – but Land keeps Edee isolated through much of the movie.

Not that these scenes mean we encounter no other roles, as we do see elements of Edee’s family via flashbacks and her imagination. Still, an awful lot of the film leaves Edee alone against nature, as she spends most of the flick’s first act solo,

After this segment, Land brings in two new characters, with Miguel Borrás (Demián Bichir) as the more significant of the pair. On the positive side, these interactions offer the movie more room for actual drama and potentially compelling material beyond the “inexperienced woman vs. nature” theme that pervades the opening act.

On the negative side, Land follows a semi-predictable path once Miguel arrives. I won’t spill particular beans, but suffice it to say that we don’t find story elements that veer down unexpected roads.

Wright does well as our lead, at least. She manages to flesh out the role’s intentional lack of definition and brings heart to the proceedings.

Nonetheless, this remains a movie that never quite hits a groove. It dallies with different genre choices but doesn’t embrace any in a meaningful way. All of this leaves Land as a dignified drama but not a memorable one.

Land appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.66:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This turned into a largely solid presentation.

Sharpness worked well, as I detected only mild signs of softness. For the most part the movie remained accurate and concise. I witnessed no jagged edges or moiré effects, and both edge haloes and print flaws remained absent.

In terms of colors, Land went with a low-key set of tones, especially during the many scenes with snow. Otherwise the terrain showed natural hues. These made sense for the story and the Blu-ray replicated them well.

Blacks seemed deep and dark, but shadows could feel a bit dense. For the most part, this turned into a pleasing image.

Though not an action extravaganza, the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of Land provided some kick, mainly during its many exterior scenes. Those used the natural elements and various kinds of weather to create a nice sense of environment that engulfed us in the material.

Music also used the five channels in an active way. Nothing here really dazzled, as the introspective nature of the story didn’t allow for fireworks, but the rugged setting allowed the track pretty good involvement.

Audio quality worked fine, with music that seemed vivid and full. Speech appeared natural and concise, while effects boasted appropriate range and impact.

Low-end was tight and deep. The soundtrack didn’t seem like a stunner, but it complemented the material in a positive manner.

The disc includes three featurettes, and Crafting Land runs five minutes, seven seconds. It offers notes from actor/director Robin Wright, production designer Trevor Smith, producers Allyn Stewart, Leah Holzer and Lora Kennedy, hair department head Jo-Dee Thompson, and actor Demián Bichir.

“Crafting” looks at sets and locations, cast and performances, hair, makeup and costumes. We get a decent overview of some issues related to the production’s wilderness-based issues.

Feature Film Directorial Debut spans three minutes, 50 seconds and includes remarks from Wright, Bichir, Stewart, Holzer, and co-writer Jesse Chatham. We learn a little about Wright’s move behind the camera. Most of this focuses on praise for Wright.

Finally, After the Trauma goes for three minutes, 19 seconds and provides info from Wright, Kennedy, Holzer, Chatham, Stewart and Bichir. “After” covers some story and character areas. It becomes a decent view of these domains.

As a story of how one woman copes with intense grief, Land never finds enough to say. It pursues a mix of less than engaging narrative choices and fails to turn into a particularly compelling character drama. The Blu-ray brings generally positive picture and audio but it lacks substantial bonus materials. While a professional affair, Land just never gets into a groove.