The United States of Leland

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The United States of Leland

R

Released Jan 18, 2003

1h 48m

Drama

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34%

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92 Reviews

81%

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25,000+ Ratings

A withdrawn young man, Leland Fitzgerald (Ryan Gosling) is imprisoned for the murder of a mentally disabled boy, who also happened to be the brother of his girlfriend, Becky (Jena Malone). As the community struggles to deal with the killing, Pearl Madison (Don Cheadle), a teacher at the prison, decides to write about Leland's case. Meanwhile, others affected by the murder, including Becky and her sister, Julie (Michelle Williams), must contend with their own problems.

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Critics Consensus

The United States of Leland has its moments, but they're undermined by a muddled plot, unsympathetic characters, and frustratingly uneven performances.

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J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

The characters’ undiluted self-interest will seem one-dimensional to all but the worst cynics.

Jun 29, 2022

Full Review

Wesley Morris

Boston Globe

Rated: 1/4

Nov 24, 2011

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Uneven drama that's too intense for kids.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 29, 2010

Full Review

Debbie Lynn Elias

Behind The Lens

Written and directed by Matthew Ryan Hoge, the script is not only profound, but incredibly tight, nuanced with subtleties and sub-plots that intersect and come together at all the right moments.

Nov 3, 2019

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Paul Dale

The List

First time writer/director Matthew Ryan Hoge's multi-layered ensemble drama is both deeply ambitious and a total mess.

Rated: 3/5

Apr 24, 2019

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Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

"The United States Of Leland" deftly points out dilemmas in current American ideology that frequently escalate into tragedy.

Rated: B-

May 4, 2009

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mark g

Completely baffled by the negative reviews. This is a great film. Incredible performances, especially from Gosling and Klein. Not a "feel good" movie, but one with captivating performances.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/10/25

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decadepast d

Very dark film with an incredible soundtrack. The subject matter of the can be more than some people can handle but if you're in the mood for something dark and beautiful I'd highly recommend this film.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/05/23

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samuel l

Completely implausible, riddled with pointless subplots that went nowhere, full of pretentious, whiny dialogue, unnecessarily long, and rather ugly to look at. The plot was predictable and beyond a mess, with the writing not explaining much of anything and instead being all philosophical as if the main character was some sort of undiscovered prodigy. The reason why the main character killed the boy was never given, the main character was treated normally throughout his life despite him acting rather strangely and probably having some sort of condition, the main character's dad was barely given any screen time, the teacher's affair was irrelevant, the girl getting into heroin and doing it at home was silly, the drug dealer relationship was never explained, the girl's dad almost shooting the main character was stupid, the sister's boyfriend deciding to rob a store so he could get into the juvenile prison was laughable, and so on. There were far too many irrelevant events and unneeded, unlikeable characters. There wasn't a single likeable character. To make matters worse, the runtime was drawn out, the acting was average, there was no emotion, the cinematography and visual effects were bland, and the soundtrack was just a collection of inappropriately toned existing songs.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

Pure grunge. A poorly justificated act serves as a excuse to explore a group of characters. Although good actors and a classic-tone of indie movie in the 90s, that is not enough to recommend it.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

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Audience Member

very interesting and moving

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

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Audience Member

Through Leland, I felt deep sorrow and desperation of a 16 years old boy. Everything become wrong and lose brightness. However this movie also insists that life is better than the sum of its parts, which is very positive message. Although movie folk don't tell us decided answer, I felt that they believe positive aspect of life and I agree with that.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

Full Review

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Matthew Ryan Hoge

Director

Don Cheadle

Pearl Madison

Ryan Gosling

Leland P. Fitzgerald

Chris Klein

Allen Harris

Jena Malone

Becky Pollard

Lena Olin

Marybeth Fitzgerald

The United States of Leland: Official Clip - Getting Clean

2:06

The United States of Leland: Official Clip - Only Human

1:10

The United States of Leland: Official Clip - Something That Happened

1:22

The United States of Leland: Official Clip - None of Your Concern

1:22

The United States of Leland: Official Clip - All of Their Sadness

1:23

The United States of Leland: Official Clip - The Most Important Stuff

1:38

The United States of Leland: Official Clip - Earl the Pearl

1:45

The United States of Leland: Official Clip - Lazy Angels

2:04

The United States of Leland: Official Clip - First Day of Class

1:51

The United States of Leland: Official Clip - Aren't You an Actor?

1:05

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Synopsis

A withdrawn young man, Leland Fitzgerald (Ryan Gosling) is imprisoned for the murder of a mentally disabled boy, who also happened to be the brother of his girlfriend, Becky (Jena Malone). As the community struggles to deal with the killing, Pearl Madison (Don Cheadle), a teacher at the prison, decides to write about Leland's case. Meanwhile, others affected by the murder, including Becky and her sister, Julie (Michelle Williams), must contend with their own problems.

Director: Matthew Ryan Hoge
Producer: Bernie Morris, Jonah Smith, Kevin Spacey, Palmer West
Screenwriter: Matthew Ryan Hoge
Distributor: Paramount Pictures, Leland Productions Inc., MDP Worldwide
Production Co: Trigger Street Productions, Thousand Words, MDP Worldwide
Rating: R (Some Drug Content|Language)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 18, 2003, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $343.8K
Runtime: 1h 48m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby SRD
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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