The Dry Land

The Dry Land (also known as American Tragic) is a 2010 American drama film written and directed by Ryan Piers Williams. The film stars Ryan O’Nan, America Ferrara, Wilmer Valderrama, Jason Ritter, and Melissa Leo. It premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and opened in limited release on July 30, 2010.

The Dry Land
Directed by	Ryan Piers Williams
Written by	Ryan Piers Williams
Produced by	Heather Rae
Starring	Ryan O'Nan America Ferrera Wilmer Valderrama Jason Ritter Melissa Leo
Cinematography	Gavin Kelly
Edited by	Sabine Hoffman
Music by	Dean Parks
Distributed by	Maya Entertainment Freestyle Releasing[1]
Release dates	January 24, 2010 (2010-01-24) (Sundance) July 30, 2010 (2010-07-30) (United States)
Running time	92 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$11,777[2]

Plot

James returns from Iraq to face a new battle readjusting to small-town life in Texas. His wife, his mother, and his friend provide support, but they cannot fully understand the pain and suffering he feels since his tour of duty ended. Lonely, James reconnects with an army buddy, Raymond, who provides him with compassion and friendship during his battle to process his experiences in Iraq. But their reunion also exposes the different ways that war affects people, at least on the surface.

Cast

• Ryan O'Nan as James
• America Ferrera as Sarah
• Wilmer Valderrama as Raymond Gonzales
• Jason Ritter as Michael
• Ethan Suplee as Jack
• Melissa Leo as Martha
• June Diane Raphael as Susie
• Evan Jones as Joe Davis
• Ana Claudia Talancón as Adriana
• Sasha Spielberg as Sally
• Barry Shabaka Henley as Colonel Stephen Evans
• Benito Martinez as David Valdez
• Diego Klattenhoff as Henry
• Misty Upham as Gloria
• Jenny Gabrielle as Tina
• Jeremiah Bitsui as Luis

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoesl, 64% of 25 critics gave the film a positive review, with a rating average of 5.52/10.^[3] Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 47 based on 10 reviews signifying "mixed or average reviews".^[4]

Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "B" grade and praised Ryan O'Nan's "quietly riveting performance as an Iraq-war veteran who comes undone after he returns home to dusty Texas (the filmmaker's home turf)".^[5]

The film received Imagen Awards nominations for best feature film and for America Ferrera as best actress.^[6]