The Ploughman: Ed Harris and an Unlikely Bond

Ed Harris directs The Ploughman, an American crime drama from Kim Zupan’s acclaimed 2014 novel. An up-and-coming young deputy sheriff, and an aging criminal, whose paths cross in unexpected ways, form the core of the film.

Stars of the adaptation include Amy Madigan, Lily Harris, and Garret Hedlund, as well as Robert Duvall.

The film explores the relationship between the duo and explains why the decisions we make in life carry consequences.

There is no official word on a release date, but filming is complete.

What is The Ploughman About?

The film focuses on a young deputy sheriff named Valentine Millimaki in rural Montana.

Millimaki begins to confront his own demons when he starts looking into the criminal past of John Gload, an aging man with a long and violent criminal past.

There are many parallels between these two men who, on the surface, should have nothing to do with each other. The deputy is saddened to hear about the many incidences where Gload was forced to do bad things to good people. Eventually Gload begins to share with Millimaki how his upbringing contributed to a life of bad decisions.

The film explores the rural lifestyle of characters with a strong sense of morality.

Despite the continued interest in the film, the production company has not given an official statement describing the film. We still do not know which aspects of the novel appear in the film.

Garrett Hedlund and Robert Duvall Lead the Cast

Hedlund was cast to play the young deputy sheriff of the story.

Hedlund has been in several movies including, Mudbound, On the Road, The Marsh King’s Daughter, and TRON: Legacy.

Previous performances demonstrate experience with characters in morally and emotionally complicated situations.

Duvall was cast for the role of the elderly criminal, John Gload.

Duvall’s career includes, The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, and Tender Mercies.

Having Duvall in the cast provides dramatic experience for a story driven by conversations and various characters.

Amy Madigan and Lily Harris are also cast for the movie.

Although there hasn’t been an official character list released, it’s important to verify cast members instead of assuming roles.

Harris is also the writer and director of the movie.

The project will be Harris’s first feature directing job in over a decade. Although no distributor has picked it up yet.

Zupan’s The Ploughmen (2014), focused on two mostly-silent characters who inhabit the rural communities of Montana, capturing the biting cold of the region as effectively as the double-edged sword of guilt and isolation caused by one character’s choice to be a repeated perpetrator of criminal behavior, and the other’s choice to seek accountability for it.

In service of this, Zupan willfully abandons conventional mystery-driven plotting, instead imbuing his characters with near omniscience, whereby gradual, incremental conversations disclose their personal histories.

Though brief, these histories prove to be consequences of his choice, and her need.

Ultimately, the sparseness of the setting allows for a powerful juxtaposition of the sublime and the internal, either through the contending, mountainous wilderness of the state, or in the aforementioned conflicts.

The film’s title is a literal translation of the plural form used in the novel.

Many of the details surrounding this adaptation have not been made publicly available, including the differences (if any) between the final screenplay and novel.

Zupan was involved in the adaptation process and has also stated that the script stays true to the heart of his novel.

According to industry reports, the movie started filming in 2021, and as of January 2023, the project had completed principal photography, with a post-production status.

As of 2026, film databases still indicated a post-production status for the movie, but this classification may not necessarily mean that there is active work being done to edit and finish the project.

There haven’t been any recent, official announcements from the production company to indicate when the movie would be released.

Also, as of this writing, there is no theatrical distributor for the movie, and an official trailer as well as an international premiere have not been announced.

Relating entertainment searches, the public may find similar searches for Movie blast. However, the film’s legitimate distribution has not determined when it will be available.

For the time being, it is a post-production film with an undetermined release date.

The film doesn’t rely on a conventional action premise to draw audiences in, as many recent films in this genre have; rather, it’s focus is on an atypical, yet powerful, relationship.

This relationship brings into question conflicting ideas of responsibility and the lengths one is willing to go to for personal redemption.

This production lends itself well to Harris’s experience as both an actor and a filmmaker.

Additionally, Hedlund, Duvall, and Madigan provide a top-notch dramatic cast.

The Montana backdrop helps capture the film’s overall emotional spirit.

Despite the lack of an official release date, this literary adaptation is worth remembering.

For fans of character-driven crime dramas and thought provoking film, this is definitely a production worth following.