The United States of Leland

Earnest but simplistic study of the inexplicable murder of a mentally challenged youngster by a seemingly normal teen., Produced by Kevin Spacey, The United States of Leland is a psychological drama concerning the aftereffects of a brutal murder. It’s also the first big-studio theatrical release for writer/director Matthew Ryan Hoge, whose previous work consists of the independent comedy Self Storage. Ryan Gosling plays Leland, an imprisoned teenager doing time for the stabbing murder of a disabled boy. Prison writing teacher Pearl Madison (Don Cheadle) gets caught up in the story with the intention of making a book out of it, especially when he finds out that Leland’s father is the famous novelist Albert Fitzgerald (Spacey). Pearl’s investigation uncovers some of the details and effects of the murder for everyone involved, including the victim’s parents, Harry (Martin Donovan) and Karen Pollard (Ann Magnuson). Jena Malone plays Becky, the teenage junkie who is both Leland’s ex-girlfriend and the victim’s sister. The situation also complicates the relationship between Becky’s older sister, Jennifer (Michelle Williams), and her sensitive boyfriend, Allen (Chris Klein). The United States of Leland premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival., Leland, the protagonists of this movie, cannot remember the day he killed a mentally retarded boy named Ryan Pollard. Leland is arrested while the rest of the town reacts with shock to the senseless murder., Leland cannot remember the day he killed a mentally retarded boy named Ryan Pollard. Leland is arrested while the rest of the town reacts with shock to the senseless murder., Leland is an imprisoned teenager doing time for the murder of a disabled boy. Prison writing teacher Pearl Madison gets caught up in the story with the intention of making a book out of it, especially when he finds out that Leland’s father is the famous novelist Albert Fitzgerald., Kevin Spacey co-produced and costars in this powerful, thought-provoking story of a seemingly normal teen (Ryan Gosling) who inexplicably murdered a mentally challenged youngster. Don Cheadle plays a teacher in a juvenile prison who tries to help him. Chris Klein, Jena Malone, Lena Olin, Michelle Williams., Leland is the son of a reclusive writer. When he murders an autistic boy, he is sentenced to juvenile detention, where a prison teacher sees a chance for fame in a novel about the troubled teenager.