Virtually every character in Matthew Ryan Hoge's deadly earnest, funereally-paced film about violence and loss admits at some point to having made a big mistake, so it's appropriate to note that The United States of Leland is one as well. Using the central act of an apparently docile suburban teen's murder of a retarded neighborhood boy to investigate deep issues of societal angst and family dysfunction in modern America, this is a languid, shapeless effort that will have viewers not so much pondering the mystery of why the young man committed the crime as wondering why such a formidable cast would choose to embrace so opaque and pedestrian a script. The talented Ryan Gosling (The Believer) stars as the strangely calm killer, but he underplays the part so strenuously that he simply becomes a cipher, while Kevin Spacey, who plays his estranged father/world-famous novelist, coasts by on his familiar shtick and clipped delivery as a slick cynic. Others include Don Cheadle, Chris Klein, Jena Malone, Lena Olin, Michelle Williams, Martin Donovan, and Ann Magnuson, but none distinguish themselves in roles designed to be unremittingly forlorn and exhausted with life. In one respect the picture succeeds, though: it leaves viewers just about as groggy and miserable as the people they're watching onscreen. Not recommended. (F. Swietek)
The United States of Leland
Paramount, 104 min., R, VHS or DVD: $29.99, Sept. 7 Volume 19, Issue 5
The United States of Leland
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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