Fresh
An intriguing movie about how badly we really want to know the unknowable, what makes kids kill other kids.
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
The United States of Leland
Crime. Confusion. Compassion. They're all just states of mind.
2003 · 1h 48m · R
Crime, Drama
Directed by
Matthew Ryan Hoge
Overview
A withdrawn young man, Leland Fitzgerald is imprisoned for the murder of a mentally disabled boy, who also happened to be the brother of his girlfriend, Becky. As the community struggles to deal with the killing, Pearl Madison, a teacher at the prison, decides to write about Leland's case. Meanwhile, others affected by the murder, including Becky and her sister, Julie, must contend with their own problems.
Director and cast
- Matthew Ryan Hoge Director
- Don Cheadle as Pearl Madison
- Ryan Gosling as Leland P. Fitzgerald
- Chris Klein as Allen Harris
- Kevin Spacey as Albert T. Fitzgerald
- Jena Malone as Becky Pollard
- Lena Olin as Marybeth Fitzgerald
- Michelle Williams as Julie Pollard
- Martin Donovan as Harry Pollard
- Ann Magnuson as Karen Pollard
- Kerry Washington as Ayesha
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
33%
Tomatometer
Rotten
Isn't it sad that a boy like this could feel so lost that he had to kill someone? Well, maybe. But isn't it sadder that someone's dead?
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
Rotten
It's neither an insightful nor well-made film.
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
Rotten
[Hoge] spends an awful lot of time trying to get us to understand Leland and almost none trying to get us to understand his victim.
Mike Ervin, Chicago Reader
Rotten
Besides being puffed up with its importance, it's also inert and totally implausible -- one of those movies where nobody behaves in a way that seems remotely human.
Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle
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