Despite tackling such weighty subjects as murder, drug addiction and depression 'United States of Leland' manages to have all the pain of a TV movie about a slight weight fluctuation. The problem does not lay with the excellent cast but with the fact that they don't have anything to do other than look miserable and spout some portentous dialogue now and then.
The film is about the travails of the dysfunctional middle class and is aimed squarely at the self same middle-class, but this isn't a mirror to reflect their complacency, merely a gentle panacea so they can congratulate themselves if they haven't had to deal with this many problems in their lives and nod concernedly as the wonderful Anne Magnuson looks a bit miserable at her son's funeral.
Maybe the director wanted everyone to seem as though they were just drifting through life unable to feel a thing, but I, for one, wanted one of the characters to let rip like Kevin Kline at the end of The Ice Storm when all the pain and rage pours out of him in a drunken moment of despair and pain. All the way through the film I was waiting for the bland exterior to be ripped away to reveal the raw beating heart of the movie but this, alas, is never to happen. Even prison isn't too bad in this film - just an inconvenience which means that the characters can't get to feel the sun of their faces as much as they'd like. The director never manages to convey that the characters are repressing their feelings nor that they are really suffering, they just stoically trudge around in their designer gear looking a bit put upon.
The United States of Leland is directed with all the drama of a headache advert ; sure Jena Malone's hair goes a bit lank and stringy every time she has some heroin but that little fashion crisis is about as much insight into her suffering as we ever get. Ryan Gosling wanders around and makes a few vaguely poetic statements about strawberries and it isn't until the very end of the film that the viewer begins to understand what led to his actions and by then I , for one, was just about beyond caring.
The United States Of Leland is a film that promises much but never delivers. It wears its class on its sleeve and the presence of such a good cast seems to be all the justification it needs to exist. This isn't a BAD film as much as it is a lazy film; a quasi-poetic study of depression and sadness without any real feeling
The film is about the travails of the dysfunctional middle class and is aimed squarely at the self same middle-class, but this isn't a mirror to reflect their complacency, merely a gentle panacea so they can congratulate themselves if they haven't had to deal with this many problems in their lives and nod concernedly as the wonderful Anne Magnuson looks a bit miserable at her son's funeral.
Maybe the director wanted everyone to seem as though they were just drifting through life unable to feel a thing, but I, for one, wanted one of the characters to let rip like Kevin Kline at the end of The Ice Storm when all the pain and rage pours out of him in a drunken moment of despair and pain. All the way through the film I was waiting for the bland exterior to be ripped away to reveal the raw beating heart of the movie but this, alas, is never to happen. Even prison isn't too bad in this film - just an inconvenience which means that the characters can't get to feel the sun of their faces as much as they'd like. The director never manages to convey that the characters are repressing their feelings nor that they are really suffering, they just stoically trudge around in their designer gear looking a bit put upon.
The United States of Leland is directed with all the drama of a headache advert ; sure Jena Malone's hair goes a bit lank and stringy every time she has some heroin but that little fashion crisis is about as much insight into her suffering as we ever get. Ryan Gosling wanders around and makes a few vaguely poetic statements about strawberries and it isn't until the very end of the film that the viewer begins to understand what led to his actions and by then I , for one, was just about beyond caring.
The United States Of Leland is a film that promises much but never delivers. It wears its class on its sleeve and the presence of such a good cast seems to be all the justification it needs to exist. This isn't a BAD film as much as it is a lazy film; a quasi-poetic study of depression and sadness without any real feeling