Shadow Land plays out like a thriller but at the end of the day, it literally falls flat. James Bamford’s 2024 film revolves around the POTUS, Robert Wainwright, who gets all sorts of weird dreams as if someone is watching him all the time. He struggles to tell the difference between what’s real and what’s a dream because he genuinely believes that someone is out to kill him. To get help, he turns to a psychologist named Dr. Elliot Davrow. There’s also Elliot’s ex-wife, Rachel, who is working on a memoir about the president. Together, they try to figure out what’s really going on with the president and whether there’s actually any danger. So, what’s going to happen to the president? Will he be saved, or will these dreams keep haunting him? We’ll find out in this explainer of the movie Shadow Land.
Spoilers Ahead
Why did Robert call for Elliot and Rachel’s assistance?
As the movie started, we saw President Robert Wainwright of the US having these haunting nightmares. He felt like someone was always watching him while he stayed in his villa in Shadow Land. It scared him so much that he couldn’t sleep at night. He often wandered around the jungle and the barns surrounding the villa, trying to see if someone was really out there. To him, it felt more real than any dream could. This wasn’t just a one- or two-day thing—it happened every day. He knew he needed to find a solution. Even though he had his personal bodyguards, Nathan and Cahill, to protect him, he doubted he was ever truly safe. He even started to question if the people he trusted the most could be behind all this. But then, he also wondered if he was just imagining things because he was getting old. He wasn’t sure anymore. Actually, he said he saw these visions after he ordered military action in Astovia, believing they were pursuing a nuclear program. That’s what his personal assistant, Jasper, had told him. Naturally, the people in Astovia weren’t happy, thinking the president might have acted without knowing the whole truth. This decision haunted him, making him question if he did the right thing. But despite his doubts, he believed he did what he had to do as president to safeguard peace and safety in America. To get rid of these continuous nightmares and dreadful thoughts, he asked for help from a psychologist named Dr. Elliot Davrow, who had treated him before. He trusted Elliot deeply. The President also thought it was time to write his memoir, so he called upon a famous journalist and writer, Rachel, who happened to be Elliot’s ex-wife. The president believed this would be the perfect pairing to help him forget all the bad stuff. He even hoped there might be a chance for Rachel and Elliot to mend their relationship, knowing how much they were meant to be together despite their work-related stress causing their divorce.
What did they find in the mail?
President Robert Wainwright shared with Elliot how he was haunted by nightmares about Astovia, which felt all too real to him. In these dreams, a military soldier was always after him. On the other hand, his assistant, Jasper, had warned him that some secret documents about the military action in Astovia might be sent to him, which might have some serious consequences for the president. This made the President nervous. The President often thought about what his father, a former army man, would have done at a particular moment. His father always told him to do what was right for the country, even if it meant risking his own life. While Rachel was writing his memoir, the president shared these thoughts with her. This shows a humble side of himself. He felt fortunate to serve his country, even if the military action in Astovia turned out to be a mistake. Both Rachel and Elliot started to think that the president might have been set up. One day, after talking to the President, Elliot went to the garden to look for clues and found an energy drink can on the grass. This made him think the president might not be imagining everything after all. He gave the can to Cahill, the bodyguard, hoping to find out who it belonged to. But you would be shocked to see how angrily Cahill reacted, as if he felt accused of not doing his job properly of securing the president, which was quite strange.
Meanwhile, Rachel and Elliot noticed that people were calling the president a war criminal, and they feared for his safety. They started to think someone might be trying to drug or kill him. In the meantime, in broad daylight, the president had another vision of someone watching him from the bushes. He ran after the person but only found some military-packaged food on the grass. And you know what? He wasn’t wrong after all. An Astovian military man was hiding in the woods, and Cahill, the president’s bodyguard, was the mastermind behind it all. Cahill wanted to kill the president and make it look like a suicide. He had hired the Astovian soldier, who had a horribly burned face from the military action in Astovia, to do the job, as he knew that this man would have so much pent-up anger inside him that he would surely take the president down. To make matters worse, Rachel received an encrypted email revealing that the President had agreed to a shady deal with the infamous Burton Group, which managed oil infrastructure, through General Rodinov’s proposition. This deal promised billions of dollars but would ruin the president’s reputation as a human rights activist and jeopardize the country’s future. Rachel and Elliot now faced the challenge of uncovering the truth and saving the president from both his enemies and the nightmares that haunt him.
What happened to Robert?
Rachel and Elliot both rushed to save the president. When they arrived, they found out that Nathan was off duty, and only Cahill was there to look after the president. Sensing danger, Rachel went inside the house and tried to call the police, but the phone line was cut off. They knew something big was about to happen. As Rachel and the President prepared for an attack, taking guns from a cabinet, they heard shouting and gunfire outside. They found out that Elliot had been injured and trapped in a car by Cahill. Cahill, thinking his plan was about to succeed, was suddenly shot by the military man he had hired. The soldier killed Cahill because he knew Cahill planned to blame him for the president’s death. Realizing he was the next target, the president quickly shot the soldier. They thought they had defeated their enemies, but then they discovered the real mastermind was actually Jasper, the president’s assistant. Everyone was shocked. Jasper’s motive was tied to the Astovian military attack. It had been hard for anyone to leave the house because of the trauma of war at Astovia and even though it was Jasper who ordered the military attack, his daughter was deeply affected by it. Although the President sympathized with Jasper, he knew he had to be stopped because he had collaborated with the Burton Group and General Rodinov behind the President’s back and manipulated him into signing a dangerous contract. In the end, the President, feeling betrayed, shot and killed Jasper.
So to answer your question, the president remained unharmed. He realized that even though he was getting old, he still had enough strength in him to separate right from wrong and stand up against his enemies. As for Rachel and Elliot, throughout all the chaos and danger, they found their way back to each other, as in the end, we saw Elliot and Rachel sharing a kiss. I think it shows the possibility that they might give their relationship a second chance. After escaping the dangers of Shadow Land, they may decide to start fresh and rebuild their bond from the beginning.
