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The Dry Land Photos

(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."

(L-R) Ryan O'Nan as James and America Ferrera as Sara in "The Dry Land."

Melissa Leo as Martha in "The Dry Land."

Wilmer Valderrama as Raymond in "The Dry Land."

View All Photos (15)

Movie Info

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.

Rating:

R (Disturbing Violent Situations|Sexual Content|Pervasive Language)
Genre:

drama
Original Language:

English
Director:

Ryan Piers Williams
Producer:

Heather Rae
Writer:

Ryan Piers Williams
Release Date (Theaters):

Jul 30, 2010 limited
Release Date (Streaming):

Nov 9, 2010
Box Office (Gross USA):

$7.4K
Runtime:

1h 32m

Cast & Crew

Ryan O'Nan
James

America Ferrera
Sara

Wilmer Valderrama
Raymond Gonzales

Jason Ritter
Michael

Melissa Leo
Martha

June Diane Raphael
Susie

Show all Cast & Crew

News & Interviews for The Dry Land

Critics Consensus: Dinner for Schmucks Serves Up An OK Time

View All

Critic Reviews for The Dry Land

All Critics (25) | Top Critics (12) | Fresh (16) | Rotten (9)

A strong first film, and with a better-honed script, Williams should prove to be a director to watch.

August 13, 2010 | Rating: 2.5/5 | Full Review…

Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle
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.

August 3, 2010 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review…

Sara Michelle Fetters
Seattle Gay News
It's impossible to watch the film and not realize that war is folly.

July 30, 2010 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

V.A. Musetto
New York Post
Williams draws upon countless earlier dramas without adding anything fresh or memorable to the discussion.

July 30, 2010 | Rating: 1.5/5 | Full Review…

Sheri Linden
Los Angeles Times
Sincere performances elevate an underdeveloped script and awkward filmmaking.

July 30, 2010 | Rating: 3/5

Jeannette Catsoulis
New York Times
Well-intentioned, if unevenly executed.

July 30, 2010 | Rating: 3/5

Christopher Kelly
Dallas Morning News
...[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.

August 10, 2016 | Rating: 6/10 | Full Review…

Sarah Boslaugh
Playback:stl
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.

October 14, 2010 | Full Review…

Prairie Miller
Reelrave
Very well-made and well-acted.

September 16, 2010 | Rating: 3/4

Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star
A very familiar Stateside war drama -- narratively, the film just goads when it's convenient and shrinks when it suits its purposes, never feeling like an honest exploration of its characters' problems.

August 9, 2010 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…

Brent Simon
Shared Darkness
Perhaps the most surprising thing about Ryan Piers Williams's gloomy post Afghan/Iraq war drama is that there aren't more such coming-home movies being made by upstart filmmakers.

August 2, 2010 | Rating: B- | Full Review…

Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
Williams and Ferrera emphasize the heartache of coming home in their Iraq War drama The Dry Land, and the result is a worthy family melodrama for the Iraq War generation.

July 30, 2010 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Steve Ramos
Boxoffice Magazine

View All Critic Reviews (25)

Audience Reviews for The Dry Land

Nov 15, 2010

A powerful, if slightly overdone, look at the effect the gulf war can have on a returning veteran. This is relentless in its portrayal of a man whose war experiences prevent him from easily resuming his civilian life. America Ferrera is as beautiful as this viewer has seen her in the role of the wife who welcomes back the ticking time bomb that is her recently discharged husband, James (Ryan O'Nan). James fights his demons as best he knows how by drinking himself into a stupor and then lashing out at everyone around him. This felt real. It may not be based on any particular homecoming, but can certainly stand in for a lot of them. It is a message film and its message is important. If you are, or anyone you know is, having trouble re-integrating back into civilian life after seeing the horrors of war first hand, help is available. The returning hero needs to know that he does not have to face his demons alone. Not all PTSD cases end as well as this one did, but not all have to get to this point either.

Mark A Super Reviewer
Dec 30, 2009

Cast: Ryan O'Nan, America Ferrera, Wilmer Valderrama, Jason Ritter, Melissa Leo, Ethan Suplee, June Diane Raphael, Sasha Spielberg, Evan Jones, Ana Claudia Talancón, Benito Martinez, Barry Shabaka Henley, Diego Klattenhoff Director: Ryan Piers Williams Summary: Upon returning after his tour of duty, an American war vet (Ryan O'Nan) grapples with repressed memories from his experiences in Iraq and the everyday mundanities of his home life -- dealing with his isolation by embarking on a road trip with an Army buddy (Wilmer Valderrama). This intense drama, which also stars Jason Ritter and America Ferrera, takes a head-on approach to confronting the conflicted emotions of the modern warrior. My Thoughts: "It's an intense indie film about the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder. This movie is sad. The things these soldiers go through is unimaginable to most of us. Ryan O'Nan was the star of this, and he was believable and honest as James. Great supporting cast as well. There are some really heavy scenes. The ending especially. It was pretty intense and you really didn't know which way it was going to end. Just a good film. Some probably won't like it, but I hope more see it."

♥˩ƳИИ & Super Reviewer