Yet it tends to fall into that 'dreamy, somewhat detached' character stereotype that a lot of independent films fall into. The United States of Leland is well written, however Leland's detached and overly idealistic thoughts tends to make the character less identifiable than it should be.
The plot line is this, Leland (Ryan Gosling), murders a young retarded boy (Michael Welch). At first, this horrific crime seems nothing more than a burst of senseless violence, but as we delve deeper into Leland's life, we discover that he may have had many motivations for doing what he did.
Cast is outstanding here, Kevin Spacey as Albert T. Fitzgerald, Leland's distant and famous father. Don Cheadle's Pearl Madison is Leland's prison teacher, who not only senses the opportunity to finally get his writing career off the ground, but sadly enters into a somewhat silly Starling/Lecter relationship with Leland.
Ann Magnuson and Martin Donovan play Mrs. And Mr. Pollard, the parents of not only the murdered boy, but the parents of troubled Becky (Jena Malone) and Julie (Michelle Williams). Mr. and Mrs. Pollard are nothing more than face characters, allowing the unlikely sister combo (not convincing at all .if they're sisters, I'm the head cheerleader). Also in the family is Julie's clingy boyfriend Allen Harris (Chris Klein). Allen sadly falls apart in the final reel, and really could have been done away with entirely.
Lena Olin, Sherilyn Fenn, Wesley Jonathan all chip in, and are decent enough, particularly Jonathan as a boy who manages to bring Leland out of his shell. Much better than the goofy character he shows in What I like about You.
The United States of Leland is a good film, yet it tends to steal a little too much from other concepts, tries to be a little too artsy for its own good, and yet it's a good watch and is well enough acted that they bring the film up a notch or two.
2 ½ out of 5
The plot line is this, Leland (Ryan Gosling), murders a young retarded boy (Michael Welch). At first, this horrific crime seems nothing more than a burst of senseless violence, but as we delve deeper into Leland's life, we discover that he may have had many motivations for doing what he did.
Cast is outstanding here, Kevin Spacey as Albert T. Fitzgerald, Leland's distant and famous father. Don Cheadle's Pearl Madison is Leland's prison teacher, who not only senses the opportunity to finally get his writing career off the ground, but sadly enters into a somewhat silly Starling/Lecter relationship with Leland.
Ann Magnuson and Martin Donovan play Mrs. And Mr. Pollard, the parents of not only the murdered boy, but the parents of troubled Becky (Jena Malone) and Julie (Michelle Williams). Mr. and Mrs. Pollard are nothing more than face characters, allowing the unlikely sister combo (not convincing at all .if they're sisters, I'm the head cheerleader). Also in the family is Julie's clingy boyfriend Allen Harris (Chris Klein). Allen sadly falls apart in the final reel, and really could have been done away with entirely.
Lena Olin, Sherilyn Fenn, Wesley Jonathan all chip in, and are decent enough, particularly Jonathan as a boy who manages to bring Leland out of his shell. Much better than the goofy character he shows in What I like about You.
The United States of Leland is a good film, yet it tends to steal a little too much from other concepts, tries to be a little too artsy for its own good, and yet it's a good watch and is well enough acted that they bring the film up a notch or two.
2 ½ out of 5