The United States of Leland (2003)

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.

Director:

Matthew Ryan Hoge

Writer:

Matthew Ryan Hoge

Stars:

Ryan Gosling, Don Cheadle, Kevin Spacey

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

As a detached kid spends time in juvenile hall for the unspeakable murder of a special needs kid, a writer and the people around him try to comprehend and cope with his reasoning for commiting this murder from the writings in a classroom book from his juvenile class, where he tries to let people know "the why".

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Plot Keywords:

boy | book | writer | teacher | author | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some drug content

Details

Official Sites:

Media 8 Entertainment Paramount Classics

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 March 2005 (Italy)

Also Known As:

20 Messerstiche

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$48,384, 4 April 2004, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$343,816, 11 July 2004

Company Credits

Production Co:

MDP Worldwide, Media 8 Entertainment, Thousand Words

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min 104 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although they don't share any scenes together, this is the first time Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams have appeared in the same film. Seven years later, they co-starred in the film Blue Valentine (2010).

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Goofs

In the scene where Becky and Leland are walking at around 2 in the morning, in the background you can see it begin to rain, but both Leland's and Becky's clothes remain perfectly dry.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Leland: When I say I don't remember that day, I'm not lying. Wish I did, but I just don't. Sometimes the most important stuff goes away. Goes away so bad, it's like it was never there to begin with. It's funny the stuff that sticks in your head. I could tell you forward and backward about one day when I was five, and my dad bought me a stupid ice cream cone. I could tell you the flavor of the ice cream. It was pick bubblegum. Even stuff about the girl who scooped it out. Her hair was fire ...

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Connections

References The Maltese Falcon (1941)

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Soundtracks

Juan
Written by John Nichols, Davie Muth, Charly Hoge
Performed by Wake Up 37
Copyright 2002 Wake Up 37

User Reviews

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.