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The United States Of Leland
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The United States of Leland is a 2004 dramatic movie by director Matthew Ryan Hoge about a meek teenaged boy named Leland P Fitzgerald who has inexplicably committed a shocking murder. In the wake of the killing, his teacher in prison tries to understand the senseless crime, while the families of the victim & the perpetrator struggle to cope with the aftermath. Several detractors have mockingly referred to the film as The United States of Donnie, deriding it as nothing more than an inferior copy of the cult movie Donnie Darko. While this is in many ways unfair & overly simplistic, there are an astonishing number of similarities between the two pictures. Both feature protagonists trying to reconcile their gentle temperaments with their violent behavior. Both heroes see things differently than other people & both reveal the sexual misadventures of an authority figure. both characters have dark, frazzled hair & a marked preference for hooded sweatshirts. In both, Jena Malone portrays as an emotionally-troubled love interest. Posters Of The United States Of LelandWe see Ryan talk about his crime, he has no answer, only how he felt, we see how the crime he has commited has affected everyone around him directly. This notion is quite haunting but the film carries a distinct lack of emotion. I did find it hard to sympathise or dislike charcaters, but this should really not deter from the overall film, as it does make you think.
There are good performances from Ryan Gosling, & Don Cheadle, while Kevin Spacey plays a solid supporting role as Leland's absent father. It was also nice to see Chris Klien in a slightly different role to the floppy haired, sensitive jock.
This film depsite it's context is very pleasent & deifnatly worth a watch, also a little beautiful on some level. Among other things is raises intresting questions & thoughts about our morales as people.
 | Don Cheadle is an American actor who first became well-known for playing the district attorney on the television series Picket Fences. Since then he has appeared in films including Rosewood, Out of Sight, Traffic & the 2001 version of Oceans Eleven. These last three were directed by Steven Soderbergh, who has said that Cheadle is one of his favorite actors to work with.
Posters Of Don Cheadle Editors Choice: Oceans Eleven, Crash, The Assassination Of Richard Nixon, The United States Of Leland, Swordfish, A Lesson Before Dying, Hotel Rwanda, View DVDology |
 | Ryan Thomas Gosling is a Canadian actor. He was born in Cornwall, Ontario. The Legendary Journeys. Ryan had a small role in Remember the Titans which starred Denzel Washington & also introduced actress Kate Bosworth. He was also on the New Mickey Mouse Club alongside Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake & Joshua J,C. Chasez, Keri Russell & Christina Aguilera. For a while, Ryan dated actress Sandra Bullock.
Posters Of The Notebook Editors Choice: The Notebook, The United States Of Leland, The Believer, View DVDology |
Don Cheadle: | Official Site | IMDB Filmography | Wikipedia Article * |
The United States of Leland: | Wikipedia Article * |