The United States of Leland (2003)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Matthew Ryan Hoge

Writer (WGA):

Matthew Ryan Hoge (written by)

Release Date:

1 July 2005 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Crime

Tagline:

Crime. Confusion. Compassion. They're all just states of mind.

Plot:

"The United States of Leland" tells the story of a young man's experience in a juvenile detention center that touches on the tumultuous changes that befall his family and the community in which he lives.

Plot Keywords:

Prison | Murder | Stabbing | Aspiring Writer | Marriage

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Don Cheadle	...	Pearl Madison
Ryan Gosling	...	Leland P. Fitzgerald
Chris Klein	...	Allen Harris
Jena Malone	...	Becky Pollard
Lena Olin	...	Marybeth Fitzgerald
Kevin Spacey	...	Albert T. Fitzgerald
Michelle Williams	...	Julie Pollard
Martin Donovan	...	Harry Pollard
Ann Magnuson	...	Karen Pollard
Kerry Washington	...	Ayesha
Sherilyn Fenn	...	Mrs. Calderon
Matt Malloy	...	Charlie
Wesley Jonathan	...	Bengel
Michael Peña	...	Guillermo
Michael Welch	...	Ryan Pollard
Ron Canada	...	Elden
Troy Winbush	...	Dave
Nick Kokich	...	Kevin
Yolonda Ross	...	Miranda
Leyna Nguyen	...	TV Reporter
Jim Haynie	...	Ben
Randall Bosley	...	Sheriff Donaldson
Jody Wood	...	Cop One
Robert Peters	...	Security Guard
Kathleen S. Dunn	...	Doris (as Kathleen Dunn)
Tony McEwing	...	News Anchor
Lawrence Lowe	...	Detention Specialist
Charles Hess	...	Main Entrance Guard
Kimberly Scott	...	Myra
Angela Paton	...	Airplane Woman
Ryan Malgarini	...	6-Year-Old Leland
Maria Arcé	...	Bethany
Dell Yount	...	Court Officer
Clyde Kusatsu	...	Judge
Melanie Lora	...	Hotel Waitress
Rene Rivera	...	Mechanic
Alec Medlock	...	12-Year-Old Leland
Jim Metzler	...	Cemetery Reporter
Michael McCleery	...	Mechanic #2
David Barrera	...	First Officer
Sheeri Rappaport	...	Second Officer
Kevin Patrick Kelly	...	Doctor (as Kevin Kelly)
Evan Helmuth	...	Grocery Guy
Ty Hodges	...	Student (as Eric Ty Hodges)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jonathan Adler	...	Neighbor (uncredited)
Brayden Cahill	...	Alex (uncredited)
Edward T. McAvoy	...	Creepy Old Man (uncredited)
Jenny Worman	...	Hotel Clerk (uncredited)

Directed by
Matthew Ryan Hoge

Writing credits (WGA)
Matthew Ryan Hoge		(written by)

Produced by
Mark Damon	....	executive producer
Stewart Hall	....	executive producer
Sammy Lee	....	executive producer
Bernie Morris	....	producer
Jonah Smith	....	producer
Kevin Spacey	....	producer
Dara Weintraub	....	co-producer
Dara Weintraub	....	line producer
Palmer West	....	producer

Original Music by
Jeremy Enigk

Cinematography by
James Glennon

Film Editing by
Jeff Betancourt

Casting by
Emily Schweber

Production Design by
Edward T. McAvoy

Art Direction by
William Arnold		(as Bill Arnold)
Kevin Constant

Set Decoration by
Jan Pascale

Costume Design by
Genevieve Tyrrell

Makeup Department
Amy L. Disarro	....	additional makeup artist (as Amy Disarro)
Marina Hart	....	additional hair stylist
Voni Hinkle	....	hair department head
Melanie Hughes	....	makeup department head (as Melanie Hughes-Weaver)
Ben Nye Jr.	....	makeup department head
Shari Perry	....	key hair stylist

Production Management
Michelle LeDoux	....	production manager
Michael Toji	....	post-production supervisor
Dara Weintraub	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Susan Abrams	....	second assistant director
William Paul Clark	....	assistant director
Heather Grierson	....	second second assistant director
Keith Jones	....	additional second second assistant director
Dawn Massaro	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Ronnie Baker	....	swing gang
Mychael Bates	....	property master
Jenny Baum	....	on-set dresser
Sam Brinson	....	construction foreman (as Samuel Brinson)
Alan Burg	....	swing gang
Dennis De George	....	swing gang
Louise Del Araujo	....	lead man
Arnold Durazo Jr.	....	propmaker
Cory Fama	....	laborer
Joseph C. Fama	....	construction coordinator (as Joe Fama)
Iola Kay Fiengo	....	assistant property master
Katie Gonzalez	....	assistant property master (as Katie Sanner)
Deborah Harman	....	swing gang
James Harne	....	propmaker
Richard McConnell	....	construction coordinator: re-shoots
Jim McDonald	....	property maker (as James McDonald)
Mark Molina	....	assistant art director
Tony Nuñez	....	assistant props
John 'Johnny O' Ornelas	....	assistant property master
Heather Pemble	....	art department production assistant
Paul M. Rohrbaugh III	....	scenic painter (as Paul Rohrbaugh)
Kenneth Roth	....	propmaker
Art Vasenius	....	lead man
Michael Wynands	....	propmaker

Sound Department
David Franklin Bergad	....	adr editor
David Franklin Bergad	....	dialogue editor
David Franklin Bergad	....	sound editor
Mark Berger	....	supervising re-recording mixer
Frank Canonica	....	supervising sound recordist: mix stage
Misty Conn	....	boom operator
Ben Conrad	....	foley recordist
Piotr Filipowski	....	sound effects editor
Chris Gridley	....	assistant sound editor
Nathan Gunn	....	assistant sound editor
Amy Hammer	....	mix facility coordinator
Clarissa Keller	....	adr facility coordinator
Alex Names	....	cableperson
Chris Navarro	....	adr recordist
John Nutt	....	supervising sound editor
Margie O'Malley	....	foley artist
David Parker	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jonathan Schwartz	....	apprentice sound editor
Daniel Sperry	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Patti Tauscher	....	foley editor
Eric Thompson	....	adr mixer
Richard Van Dyke	....	production sound mixer
James Willetts	....	assistant foley recordist

Special Effects by
David P. Kelsey	....	special effects coordinator

Visual Effects by
Christopher Dusendschon	....	digital imaging supervisor: iO FILM
Adam Hawkey	....	lead compositor: iOFilm

Stunts
Keith Adams	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Garrett Benson	....	first assistant camera: second camera
Kevin Brennan	....	gaffer
Davie Brown	....	key grip
Tony Bryan	....	electrician
Jeff Butters	....	gaffer
Earl L. Clark	....	camera operator: second camera (as Earl Clark)
Matthew Coleman	....	electrician (as Matt 'Madman' Coleman)
Matthew A. Del Ruth	....	second assistant camera
Sean W. Del Ruth	....	camera loader
Ronald K. De torres	....	set lighting technician
Maurizio Dotto	....	first assistant camera: second camera (as Nino Dotto)
Robert Edesa	....	camera operator
Robert Edesa	....	director of photography: additional photography
Casey Ellison	....	electrician
Fernando Frausto	....	company grip
Todd Fullerton	....	video playback operator
Mike Gentile	....	additional camera loader
Paul A. Hardiman	....	electrician (as Paul Hardiman)
Michael Hester	....	company grip
Casey Hotchkiss	....	camera operator: second camera (as Case Hotchkiss)
Tino Jimenez	....	electrician
Mark La Bonge	....	Steadicam operator
Ama MacDonald	....	electrician (as Ama McDonald)
Jeff Maroun	....	electrician
Jeffrey Maroun	....	electrician
Chuck Mason	....	electrician
Alyosha Mattei	....	electrician (as Osha Mattei)
Robert D. McBride	....	camera operator: second camera (as Bob McBride)
Terence McNally	....	electrician
David L. Merrill	....	key grip
Dominic Napolitano	....	first assistant camera
Ron Peterson	....	second assistant camera: second camera
Danny Plante	....	company grip
John J. Plante	....	best boy grip (as John Plantes)
Rudy Pohlert	....	best boy electric
Chris Portugal	....	company grip
Lionel T. Portugal II	....	company grip
Lionel T. Portugal Sr.	....	best boy grip
Eric Roizman	....	assistant camera: "b" camera
Lorey Sebastian	....	still photographer
Louis Sevol	....	second assistant camera
David Terry	....	dolly grip
Ron Vargas	....	first assistant camera
Troy N. Wade	....	dolly grip (as Troy Wade)
Frans Wetterings III	....	best boy electric (as Frans Wetterings)
Rhett Wooden	....	company grip

Casting Department
Lyndsey Gayer	....	casting assistant
Barbara Harris	....	adr voice casting
Rich King	....	extras casting
Kelly Hunt	....	extras casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Mynka Draper	....	costume supervisor
Molly Grundman	....	key set costumer
Heidi Higginbotham	....	costume supervisor
Michele Posch	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Joe Fineman	....	post-production consultant
Mato	....	color timer
Michael Nouryeh	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Mike Flicker	....	supervising music editor
Matt Friedman	....	music editor
Jeff Lingle	....	music editor
Tracy McKnight	....	music supervisor
Alysia Oakley	....	assistant to music supervisor
Reed Ruddy	....	music engineer
BC Smith	....	music producer

Transportation Department
J. Armin Garza II	....	driver: camera car
Michael Merrick	....	transportation coordinator
Gary Wiseman	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Edgar Avendaño	....	assistant: Mr. Hoge
Kent James Stewart Barber	....	assistant location manager (as James Barber)
Drew Bayers	....	assistant: Mr. Morris
Sarah Bay Williams	....	executive: Trigger Street
Christine Bonnem	....	location manager
Frank Caridi	....	set production assistant (as Frank J. Caridi)
Jon Damon	....	set production assistant
Jaime Davis	....	production assistant
Kimberly Edwards	....	post-production accountant
Sean Ervin	....	assistant: Mr. Spacey
Kieron Estrada	....	location scout
Eric L. Fersten	....	assistant to co-producer
Bill Greenfield	....	office production assistant (as William Robert Greenfield)
Kelly Harris	....	assistant location manager
Celeste Healy	....	production coordinator
Thomas J. Healy IV	....	key assistant location manager
Thomas J. Healy IV	....	location scout (as Thomas Healy)
Heather Heath	....	payroll accountant
Zack Heath	....	production assistant
Michelle Hoffman	....	craft service assistant
Adam Jordan	....	production assistant
Astrid Kemnitz	....	first assistant accountant
Jeff Lane	....	production assistant
Jeff Lane	....	set production assistant
Stephanie Lewis	....	assistant: Mr. Smith and Mr. West
Peter Madamba	....	script researcher
Jay Mason	....	script supervisor
Brian McMillan	....	animal trainer
Vikki McMillan	....	animal trainer
Lucas Moore	....	studio teacher: Michael Welch
Robert W. Morgenroth	....	video effects supervisor (as Bob Morgenroth)
Kyle Oliver	....	assistant location manager (as Kyle 'Snappy' Oliver)
Nathan Polatin	....	location manager
Nancy Pyne-Hapke	....	studio teacher
Devan Richardson	....	craft service foreman
Jose Salas	....	chef
Matt Sprague	....	office production assistant
Stephanie Stearns	....	production assistant
Marsha L. Swinton	....	production accountant
Kirk Tedeski	....	video coordinator
Scott Tuft	....	production assistant
Jude S. Walko	....	assistant production coordinator
Arif S. Kinchen	....	additional voices (uncredited)

Thanks
Donald Barthelme	....	special thanks
Brian Costello	....	special thanks
Mark Everett	....	special thanks (as E)
Tamara Stuparich de la Barra	....	thanks

Production Companies

• MDP Worldwide
• Media 8 Entertainment
• Thousand Words
• Trigger Street Productions

Distributors

• Asmik Ace Entertainment (Japan) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (2005) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2005) (Argentina) (VHS)
• KinoVista (2003-2008) (France) (TV)
• Leland Productions Inc.
• MDP Worldwide
• Manga Films
• Momentum Pictures (2003) (UK) (all media)
• One Plus One (2006) (France) (video) (DVD)
• Paramount Classics (2004) (USA)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2005) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Solo Film Verleih (Germany)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2005) (Argentina) (all media)
• With Cinema (Korea)
• e-m-s the DVD-Company (2006) (Germany) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Title House Digital (opticals)

Other Companies

• Act One Script Clearance  script clearance and research
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes and dollies
• Leonetti Company  production equipment
• Magic Film and Video Works  negative cutting
• Mato  color timing
• Pivotal Post  Avid editing equipment provided by
• Polaris PR  unit publicity
• Rich King Casting  extras casting
• Saul Zaentz Film Center  sound post-production
• Saul Zaentz Film Center  sound re-recording
• Top Notch Security  security
• Wilshire Stages, The  adr facilities

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some drug content.

Runtime:

108 min | Canada:104 min (Ontario)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Brazil:14 | Iceland:12 | Portugal:M/12 (DVD rating) | Australia:M | Canada:14A | USA:R | Argentina:13 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

MDP Worldwide

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Leland is watching the basketball game with the other inmate, the sun is shining through the window, however, the shadows outside are cast in wrong direction.

Quotes:

Becky Pollard: I don't want to hurt you.
Leland: Then don't.

Movie Connections:

References The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Soundtrack:

Juan

The critics failed to grasp the meaning of this one

I was looking at the external reviews (Ebert, etc.) for this film and they were all pretty much negative. However, after reading many of them, I noticed that they all made the same point. Critics were upset that the film centers around what appears to be a senseless murder of an autistic child. Certainly, this is a disturbing image. Critics like Ebert want a traditional detective story that uncovers why the killing happened and squarely places blame on the guilty. They want blame to be cast and resolved. Well, that status-quo theme is kind of what the movie is parodying. Just like society, the critics wanted a very quick resolution so they could move on to their next tragic opera. Perhaps there is no simple question to be answered here? There is a whole lot more to what happened then what is on the surface. The film does not seek to rationalize what happens, but rather understand the why. What also steams me so much about these inane reviews is that all they look at in the way of performances is Spacey and Cheadle, who were both great (and generally are). But there are other great performances at work here other than just the two current icons of Hollywood. Gosling gives an incredible performance that really only somebody of his extreme talent could deliver. Somehow, Gosling is able to make the killer of an autistic child sympathetic. This irritates many, I am sure. However, if one watches the film, they see what Leeland's motivation is, it is wrong, but it is not evil. Malone is also on top of her game as yet another confused young character. Basically, the killing of the child in this film is not the main theme of the movie. The main theme is life itself and how people go about dealing with it, the highs and lows, and how they attempt to sometimes help others deal with their lives (which does not seem to work out very well). There is a lot of good and bad in this world and how we handle each has direct impact on how much more good and bad will take place, and sometimes a confused attempt at doing good, can lead to a whole bunch more of bad. I think this is one of the more memorable films in sometime and has an ending that is as touching as anything in recent movie history. I strongly believe people should view this film, with an open mind.