The United States of Leland (R, 2004)

Leland (Ryan Gosling) seems like a reasonably pleasant and easy-going kid. And then one day he kills a developmentally disabled boy, the brother of his girlfriend. It isn't that no one seems to know the reason. It seems that there just was no reason. Leland had always been polite to everyone and kind and gentle with the boy, volunteering to walk him home from school. A cop dismisses Leland as just another SFK (sick f-ing kid). But he does not seem angry or violent or unstable. He does not even seem upset. He is cooperative, truthful, and placid. In the juvenile facility, teacher and frustrated writer Pearl (Don Cheadle), is intrigued and decides to write Leland's story. Leland's father (Kevin Spacey) is a successful novelist who can write sensitive stuff, but is aloof, even merciless in his interactions with other people. He can't help Leland, but he can stop Pearl from exploiting his story. But Leland wants someone to listen, and Pearl is all he has.

THE UNITED STATES OF LELAND is an overly plotted but beautifully acted movie. The script has the overheated, overblown, over-everything feel of an actor's exercise extravaganza. Each character has some major emotional challenge and it gets overloaded and distracting. But the individual moments, especially Gosling's performance, are sensitive and moving and the issues of the damage we inflict on ourselves and each other are worth examining, even less than successfully.

Studio: Paramount Pictures
Director: Matthew Ryan Hoge
Cast: Chris Klein, Jena Malone, Ryan Gosling
Genre: Drama
Run time: 104 minutes
Theatrical release: April 2, 2004
DVD release: September 6, 2004
MPAA Rating: R
MPAA explanation: language and some drug content