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United States of Leland, The
Generally unfavorable reviews
Based on 27 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 17 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Crime | Drama
Written by: Matthew Ryan Hoge
Directed by: Matthew Ryan Hoge
Release Date:
Theatrical: April 2, 2004
DVD: September 7, 2004
Running Time: 105 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R for language and some drug content
Starring Don Cheadle, Ryan Gosling, Chris Klein, Jena Malone, Lena Olin, Kevin Spacey, Michelle Williams, and Martin Donovan
On an ordinary school day in California, a seemingly ordinary student named Leland Fitzgerald (Gosling) commits a devastating, inexplicable crime...and changes everything forever...not only for Leland but his family, friends and the teacher who becomes obsessed with trying to figure out why. (Paramount Classics)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Film Threat Eric Campos
Thoroughly entertaining and will possibly get you thinking about certain choices you've made in your life.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan
A compelling, exquisitely acted drama about the shock waves emanating from -- and toward -- a single act of almost inexplicable violence.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
A tale of disaffection, devastation and epiphanies of the catastrophic kind.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
A complex and often compelling melodrama, at times almost verging on soap opera.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Chuck Wilson
Only Chris Klein, as the lovesick live-in boyfriend of Becky's sister, is given anything like an active emotional arc to play, and he runs with it so beautifully that he steals the movie.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Robert K. Elder
In his thoughtfully paced, well-acted film, Hoge doesn't set out to solve the "why" of Leland's ghastly crime. He's more interested in examining the reason why society needs to create and interpret a reason for horror.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
The screenplay aims high in terms of humanity and complexity, but director Hoge drains it of energy with listless meanderings that provide more yawns than insights.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
I believe it is as cruel and senseless as the killings in "Elephant," but while that film was chillingly objective, this one seems to be on everybody's side. It's a moral muddle.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
The finished film, while competently acted and staged, has missed the high mark Spacey set for it. It's self-important, tedious and ultimately pointless, with absolutely none of the sardonic wit that remains the most memorable feature of "American Beauty."
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
Hoge's film raises more questions than it answers – that's his point, I think, to get us thinking – and Gosling, who previously played the conflicted Jewish Nazi skinhead in "The Believer," inhabits the role of Leland so fully it's as if the character had killed him as well.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Marc Mohan
The result is a frustrating and disturbing mishmash of vague philosophical noodling, which even the best-chosen cast can't imbue with zip.
Read Full Review >Empire Anna Smith
It's poetic, hypnotic and well-performed, but fails to either draw out its characters with conviction or fully draw its audience in.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
The characters' undiluted self-interest will seem one-dimensional to all but the worst cynics.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
Fatuous twaddle posing as a REALLY DEEP consideration of what's wrong with our crazy, mixed-up world, Matthew Ryan Hoge's slick but deeply dumb film unfolds in a picture-perfect suburb of Anywheresville, USA.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
An ambitious and intelligent film probing that chronic contemporary phenomenon, the seemingly senseless crime, but it is ultimately unsatisfying for all its efforts and various pluses.
Read Full Review >Variety David Rooney
Hoge shows no particular directorial style, bringing a bland, anonymous look to the generic Southern California suburban locations.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray
Hoge, who scripted and directed The United States Of Leland, caters to his cast too much. He gives almost every character a way-too-involved subplot, which distracts from the heart of his story.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jack Mathews
There's a reason filmmaking is considered a craft, and Hoge, a former teacher in a juvenile prison, cannot pull off what would be a tricky proposition for a skilled veteran.
Read Full Review >Premiere Peter Debruge
Absence of motive makes the movie provocative; the explanation renders it irrelevant and defuses any interesting debate the film might have inspired.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
The United States of Leland has a resonance of "Elephant" without the visual poetry or structural sophistication, or "American Beauty" without the leavening comedy, but it's neither an insightful nor well-made film.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Melissa Levine
It's flapping its wings so desperately in pursuit of artistic heights that it nosedives directly into the ground. The relentless exertion makes the film a chore to watch.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Thomson
There's something secondhand about everything here. Hoge (this is his debut) seems to be mimicking the tone and fabric of other, better indie movies.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Dennis Lim
The movie's idiotic fascination with the senselessness of its central act is scarily close to a fetish.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Dana Stevens
The real question raised by The United States of Leland is not why, but how. How, that is, did so many talented actors find their way to this dreary and derivative study in suburban dysfunction?
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
The United States of Leland is tedious yet infuriating, since its characters, all of whom seem to have emerged from a screenwriter's manual, are like exhibits in a thesis meant to indict the middle class for the crime of its collective dysfunction.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
This bomb, which premiered at last year's Sundance Film Festival, belongs in the same remainder bin as Spacey's "Pay It Forward," "K-Pax" and "The Life of David Gale."
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 6.9 (out of 10) based on 17 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Miguel G. gave it a3:
The film does not tell anything, does not have any insight in any particular issue and it definitely has no complexity. Nothing to save apart of Kevin Sapcy's acting.
Andrew D. gave it a10:
Absolutly fantastic film....will make you think
HollyC. gave it a5:
I understand the bad reviews of this film, as the dialogue, various outskirt characters and plot points fell apart. This film feels very writerly--like a good short story or novel (indeed, writer themes/characters are everywhere)--but it was ultimately adapted very poorly into a motion picture. Regardless of these problems, I do find that Ryan Gosling and Don Cheadle did remarkably well. The moral debate going on in this film--while engaging, is quite sophmoric in the end, which is too bad. The comparison one user review made to Donnie Darko, I think, is a bit generous as Darko was very well written, acted and directed. This film had some great actors--the direction was ok but the writing and plot devices fell through. The story, in the end, did seem muddled--and possibly better looking on paper then screen.
Larry J gave it an8:
[***SPOILERS***] Professional critics, for the most part, missed the point of this movie. Why did Leland do it? In the first part of the movie we are led to think that there might have been a motivation akin to what we might find in Camus' "The Stranger": I just wanted to see what it'd feel like. However, as the movie progresses, and we are given more insight into Leland's psyche, we discover that he is deeply troubled. His perceptions of the world as full to the brim of profound sadness reveal his inadequate grasp of reality. His comiseration with some of the afflicted is what leads him to do it. Leland's killing is a mercy killing. He took himself to be helping, not hurting. When Leland perceives the kid eyeing a woman, Leland knows that the desire will go forever unsatisfied. When Leland sees the kid trying to ride through the tree, he sees that though the kid may want to progress, there are obstacles that will never allow it. Leland commits a mercy killing. Has he done something wrong? Of course. Does he deserve our pity? Yes. Have any critics who panned this movie understood it's subtle take on the complexity of desire and motivation? No!
elizabeth m gave it an8:
This was a great movie! Yeah a little confusing, but still really great. And so was Ryan Gosling in this movie. USL was also a learning experience!
Kuo T. gave it an8:
The United States of Leland is, at the very least, full of talented actors that made their characters come to life, especially Leland. Other characters, even with brief parts, are well-developed. The movie raised many questions but did not provide answers for them. It does get you think about life in a different way. There are some memorable scenes in the movie that I can definite replay again and again.
Robert A gave it a3:
Well, i really wanted to like this film. But, it just isn't good. Written like a bad book.
