Review: The United States of Leland (*** 1/2)

THE UNITED STATES OF LELAND
A film review by Steve Rhodes

Copyright 2004 Steve Rhodes

RATING (0 TO ****): *** 1/2


Eliciting understated and perceptive performances from even the most minor
members of THE UNITED STATES OF LELAND's large and talented cast, writer and
director Matthew Ryan Hoge crafts a beautifully intriguing film around the
question of "Why?"



Leland Fitzgerald has killed the retarded brother of his girlfriend, Becky
Pollard (Jena Malone), a sweet girl with her own set of problems, especially
hard drug usage. Leland is played brilliantly by Ryan Gosling, who was so
absolutely amazing as the lead in THE BELIEVER. Since Leland was like the
dead boy's big brother, no one, including Leland himself, has any clue as to
why it happened. Leland remembers the exact flavor of ice cream -- pink
bubble gum -- he got in an outing with his father when he was five, but he
can't remember anything about the boy's death.



In juvenile hall, Leland tells his father-confessor, Pearl Madison (Don
Cheadle), "You want to know why, but maybe there isn't a 'why?' Maybe, it's
just something that happened." Although Pearl wants to be Leland's friend
and helper, what he wants most of all is material for a book about him.
Pearl isn't a guidance counselor but a teacher to the inmates. The title of
the movie comes from something that Leland scribbles on his history
workbook, which turns into his diary.



This quiet, introspective film introduces three times more characters and
storylines that it needs but manages, nonetheless, to make us care about all
of the characters since they are so genuine. ELECTION's Chris Klein and THE
STATION AGENT's Michelle Williams, for example, play young lovers with their
own set of problems. As Becky's sister, Julie, Williams has to deal with
her family's grief, an upcoming college admission decision and a decision on
whether to stay with her longtime boyfriend.



A snarly Kevin Spacey plays Leland's estranged father, Albert. After
divorcing his wife, Marybeth (Lena Olin), Albert moves to Paris. Twice a
year, he sends Leland tickets to visit him in Europe, knowing full well that
his son will do something else entirely with the tickets. One of Leland's
favorite things is using them to visit a family he met in New York.



Pearl meets Albert in a bar to pick his brains, but, instead, Albert almost
eats him alive. "I could write twelve novels on the lights and shadows in
this bar," Albert brags of his unsurpassable writing abilities. He's not
about to let Pearl exploit his son since Albert has his own plans to do the
exploiting.



So much is going on in this reserved and pensive picture that it becomes
easy to forgive what is its one possible flaw, a pair of off-the-wall
twists. Mostly, however, this is a film whose nuances glimmer with a
diamond's brilliance.



THE UNITED STATES OF LELAND runs 1:44. It is rated R for "language and some
drug content" and would be acceptable for older teenagers.



The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, April 9, 2004. In
the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the Camera Cinemas.



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