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

Gross USA:

$343,847

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$343,847

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

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.

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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

Featured in Anatomy of a Scene: The United States of Leland (2004)

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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

a must for anyone

Before I saw this film, I read the comment of someone who wasn't very fond of it. This I must admit made me apprehensive to dedicate 1 hour and 48 minutes of my life to it, but I'm glad I did. Ryan Gosling is a fantastic actor, I especially loved the Believer. Don Cheadle was also fantastic. The film presented an interesting view on life and death. It was very touching and very sad, yet it kept me interested, which most touching stories cannot do. It is a film that reckless of whether or not you like it, you should see it. It was unique,and I don;t think that anyone will ever be able to duplicate it. All of the young actors did surprisingly well given the subject matter and the emotion that must have gone into it. I was pleasantly surprised.