The United States of Leland (2004)

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Excellent but underrated film

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Though this is supposed to be an "indie", the producers must have been very well connected to get such A list talent to work on a C list movie. It is one of those movies based on a trope that the public loves: teens doing horrific stuff. Are they evil, is our society to blame for making such nice boys into monsters? It just draws us in, along with the alleged narcissism of the title, which was plain stupid.Leland kills a retarded kid, the brother of his erstwhile junkie girl friend and her phony "picture perfect" white suburban family. He is a smart, seemingly pleasant guy full of all sorts of insights that his rude self centered neglectful novelist Kevin Spacey dad gave him. The writer mucks out of the moral angle of this by conveniently having the titular character mentally "black out" at the time of the murder, even though he wasn't a druggie.I compare this to the River's Edge. While that movie was clumsy and had some hammy acting and bad plot elements, it connected with me and many of my time because it showed the dark side of drugs, out of control teens etc in suburbia. Nor did they try to sugar coat the killer, he was a pig. But he was "saved" by an older, hipper killer. But the old one leg biker killer was morally superior to his younger protégé because he at least loved his girlfriend that he shot dead for no real reason. US of L was superior to that movie on a technical and acting level but it was kind of cheap and exploitative. Ryan Gosling is a good actor but his puppy dog man-boy act involved spouting all sorts of random insights about the human condition. His character just didn't connect too well.There was no resolution, no real catharsis. The ending was all pat and cheap. For instance: wasn't Pearl, the wise caring black guy stock character, responsible because he neglected his duties?

Ryan Gosling stars in what many consider to be his breakout role, playing a modern day Holden Caufield, who has committed a heinous crime. While the story has some tremendous performances, it really lacks any substance, rehashing the events of the past week, over and over again. We know right from the beginning of the film, that Leland killed a retard boy, what we don't know is why. The focus of the film is discovering what lead this highly intelligent, son of a celebrity, to commit such an act. The film has a huge cast of celebrities, that include Don Cheadle, Kevin Spacey, Chris Klein, and Michelle Williams, all of whom are as good as you would expect. What the film has in talent, it lacks in substance, as it's really just a whole lot of Leland talking in code. The writers go out of their way to show Leland as this deep, emotionless kid, that's been trapped inside his own mind his entire life. As the film goes on, the more Leland opens up. The writers paint the portrait of this kid and show you ever aspect of his life, in the hopes that you will figure out his true motivation before it comes out. The result is a slow moving film that causes the audience to gradually lose interest as time goes on. There is no doubt the Ryan Gosling was spectacular and deserves every good thing said about his performance, but the story seems to move slowly and in circles. The writers made it much more in depth than it had to be and most audiences will be turned off by it.

Being a fan of Ryan Gosling's work (The Notebook, Half-Nelson, Lars and the Real Girl...) I had to view this film. I believe this film is under-appreciated. Hopefully more will be enticed to view the excellence that surrounds this film, from its all-star cast to the very meaning of the film.The story revolves around the murder of a mentally challenged kid who happens to have a rather large family. The murderer understands others want to know one thing, "why?", and he shares his story to his teacher in jail. The story also involves the remorse both families go through, particularly the victim's family.The film is enjoyable, unique, but dark. It sort of reminded me of the Donnie Darko atmosphere, where the main character is apathetic. The film works together perfectly, but it is a bit tedious at times, which elevated my appreciation of the film.The only part I was completely confused about was when Leland received a pencil and a book... a pencil to a murderer who stabbed the victim... (No this isn't a spoiler, this is the very basis of the film) Altogether, this film works, it's something that should not be overlooked.Don Cheadle, Ryan Gosling, Chris Klein, Jena Malone, Lena Olin, Kevin Spacey, Michelle Williams, Martin Donovan... must I go on? Look at that awesome cast... all acted well, but in particular, Ryan Gosling and Chris Klein.Enjoy this film for what it is, and enjoy the darkness, but keep in mind the message isn't to do dark things, it simply explains why dark events occur. Appreciate the message, whether you're a pessimist or an optimist, you'll enjoy it.

I remember seeing the trailer for this film and I absolutely knew I had to see this movie. It looked like something that would be right up my alley."The United States of Leland" is a terrific movie. It is not one that will leave you with a nice, pleasant ending, but with a sad, empty feeling instead. And when I say it will leave you with an "empty" feeling, I do not mean that as a bad thing. I believe that you are meant to fill that empty feeling with your own thoughts about the characters and human's general motives and how they act as parts of society.Ryan Gosling is perfectly cast as Leland. He is intelligent, yet stoic. I like the way that he narrates the film with his journal. The supporting cast is terrific as well. Kevin Spacey is very good, as always, and Don Cheadle is amazing as Leland's teacher and mentor. This was a great story and is very smart and thought provoking. I highly recommend it.