Rotten Tomatoes

Movies / TV

    Celebrity

      No Results Found

       View All       Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

      The Dry Land

      R Released Jul 30, 2010 1 hr. 32 min. Drama List
      64% 25 Reviews Tomatometer 46% 250+ Ratings Audience Score The emotional scars inflicted by a soldier's tour of duty in Iraq are almost too much for him to bear as he (Ryan O'Nan) tries to readjust to civilian life. Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

      View All (32) audience reviews
      Audience Member It covers PTSD well. But the overall story is a little dull. Good performances. Almost too real to be entertaining. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member I expect to see more Iraq & Afghanistan coming home movies, but this one needed a lot more work. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member An interesting look at PTSD that never manages to be engaging. I admire the attempt to create something that can inform viewers, but I was any engaged every now and again. Wilmer Valderrama is surprisingly effective, and Ryan O'Nan is well-cast as a depressive Iraq war vet, but the film doesn't really manage to connect on a level that doesn't feel like a sappy indie weeper. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member another soldier returns fron traq with PTSD and other issues and tries 2 readjust to life in the states clear rating Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Really enjoyed the whole movie a lot except for the ending. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member A ponderous message-movie that is pretty-much all drama (there is very little "lite" here). The Dry Land is a story of an Iraq war vet returning home to rural western Texas to the loving arms of his wife (America Ferrera -- TV's Ugly Betty) only to realize he cannot make things "right" in his mind with what occured on the other side of the world. He meets fellow soldiers and friends and tries to make peace; but the film depicts the folly of war. Humans aren't made to be killing machines without something inside each of us changing. For a brief time, it felt as if this was going to be a retread of the Americanized version of the film Brothers, but it eventually steered itself into a different direction which was good. There really isn't much to discuss about this quiet film. Like it's title suggests ... the story doesn't meander like a river -- it is just all-out and flat. There is an expanse of land to look at and take in -- and that is what this film is all about. Look at war. Look at its problems. Look at its "solutions". Look at us. Look ... Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

      Cast & Crew

      Show Less Cast & Crew Show More Cast & Crew

      More Like This

      View All Best Movies to Stream at Home
      64% 81% Reign Over Me 73% 66% Harvest 45% 25% Morning 21% 45% Fireflies in the Garden 65% 50% The Merry Gentleman Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

      Movie News & Guides

      View All Movie News & Guides

      This movie is featured in the following articles.

      Critics Consensus: Dinner for Schmucks Serves Up An OK Time

      Photos

      View All The Dry Land photos

      The Dry Land

      The Dry Land (2010) The Dry Land (2010) The Dry Land (2010) The Dry Land (2010) (Foreground L-R) Filmmaker Ryan Piers Williams, America Ferrera and Jason Ritter on the set of "The Dry Land." (L-R) America Ferrera as Sara and Ryan O'Nan as James in "The Dry Land." View more photos

      Critics Reviews

      View All (25) Critics Reviews
      Marjorie Baumgarten Austin Chronicle A strong first film, and with a better-honed script, Williams should prove to be a director to watch. Rated: 2.5/5 Aug 13, 2010 Full Review Sara Michelle Fetters Seattle Gay News O'Nan's star making performance manages to hold things together even when the script threatens to tear them apart, while the emotional center of the picture rings with a moving truthfulness that can't help but hit close to home. Rated: 2.5/4 Aug 3, 2010 Full Review V.A. Musetto New York Post It's impossible to watch the film and not realize that war is folly. Rated: 3/4 Jul 30, 2010 Full Review Sarah Boslaugh Playback:stl ...[captures] the desolation of the high desert country and an excellent score by Dean Parks and a nice selection of pre-existing songs helps to place this story in a very specific time and place. Rated: 6/10 Aug 10, 2016 Full Review Prairie Miller Reelrave This typical covert censorship in war movies is so conventional and prevalent by now, that there's an actual office in existence called the US Army Entertainment Industry Liaison. Indeed, authenticity when it comes to locations and props, has its price. Oct 14, 2010 Full Review Robert W. Butler Kansas City Star Very well-made and well-acted. Rated: 3/4 Sep 16, 2010 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis The emotional scars inflicted by a soldier's tour of duty in Iraq are almost too much for him to bear as he (Ryan O'Nan) tries to readjust to civilian life.
      Director
      Ryan Piers Williams
      Executive Producer
      America Ferrera, Sergio Aguero
      Screenwriter
      Ryan Piers Williams
      Distributor
      Freestyle Releasing
      Rating
      R (Disturbing Violent Situations|Sexual Content|Pervasive Language)
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Jul 30, 2010, Limited
      Release Date (DVD)
      Nov 9, 2010
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $7.4K