Review of The United States of Leland (2003) by Danielle S — 10 Aug 2008

Leland: "And that's when I figured out that tears couldn't make somebody who was dead alive again. There's another thing to learn about tears, they can't make somebody who doesn't love you any more love you again. It's the same with prayers. I wonder how much of their lives people waste crying and praying to God. If you ask me, the devil makes more sense than God does. I can at least see why people would want him around. It's good to have somebody to blame for the bad stuff they do. Maybe God's there because people get scared of all the bad stuff they do. They figure that God and the Devil are always playing this game of tug-of-war game with them. And they never know which side they're gonna wind up on. I guess that tug-of-war idea explains how sometimes, even when people try to do something good, it still turns out bad.".

Ryan Gosling plays Leland P. Fitzgerald, a 16-year-old boy who, as the film begins, has stabbed a retarded boy to death. From there the film, smartly written and directed by Matthew Ryan Hoge, unfolds on two timelines, one showing the aftermath of the murder, the other showing the events preceding it. Gosling excels at playing isolated young men, and his work as Leland is fantastic, imbuing him with sadness and a slight dopiness that is endearing. Hoge's story certainly doesn't come together like a puzzle. The missing pieces never entirely materialize, and the fragments never collect into a complete picture. Perhaps most damaging, despite a solid performance by Ryan Gosling, is that Leland's blankness and intellectualization never turns into a believable character. Don Cheadle has an intensity and charisma that bigger stars should envy, and Kevin Spacey plays the self-proclaimed asshole father with a sharpness that stings. But the rest of the supporting characters aren't developed enough to make much of an impression, particularly the victim.