The United States of Leland is a 2004 dramatic movie by director Matthew Ryan Hoge about a meek teenaged boy named Leland P. Fitzgerald who has inexplicably committed a shocking murder. In the wake of the killing, his teacher in prison tries to understand the senseless crime, while the families of the victim and the perpetrator struggle to cope with the aftermath. (Note: The Internet Movie Database and some other sources consider this movie a 2003 release, dating it from its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival instead of its release to the public.) 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Film refers to the celluloid media on which movies are printed Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival in the United States, and ranks amongst the top five events of its type in the world. ...

The cast

• Ryan Gosling as Leland P. Fitzgerald
• Kevin Spacey as Albert T. Fitzgerald
• Lena Olin as Marybeth Fitzgerald
• Don Cheadle as Pearl Madison
• Chris Klein as Allen Harris
• Jena Malone as Becky Pollard
• Michelle Williams as Julie Pollard
• Martin Donovan as Harry Pollard
• Ann Magnuson as Karen Pollard
• Michael Welch as Ryan Pollard
• Sherilyn Fenn as Mrs. Calderon

Ryan Gosling Ryan Thomas Gosling (born November 12, 1980) is a Canadian actor. ... Kevin Spacey as Verbal in The Usual Suspects Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959 in South Orange, New Jersey), better known as Kevin Spacey, is an American actor of Welsh descent. ... Actress Lena Olin Lena Olin (born March 22, 1955) is an internationally acclaimed actress. ... Don Cheadle (born November 29, 1964 in Kansas City, Missouri) is an American actor who first became well-known for playing the district attorney on the television series Picket Fences. ... There are a number of noted individuals named Chris Klein: Chris Klein (actor) is an American actor best known for American Pie (movie). ... Jena Malone as Margie Flynn and Emile Hirsch as Francis Doyle in The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys Jena Malone (born November 21, 1984) is an American actress. ... Michelle Williams may refer to: Michelle Williams, (b. ... Michael Welch (July 25, 1987-) is an American actor who is best known for playing Luke Girardi in Joan of Arcadia and Artim in Star Trek: Insurrection. ... Sherilyn Fenn Sherilyn Fenn (born Sheryl Ann Fenn February 1, 1965 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American actress. ...

Criticism

Several detractors have mockingly referred to the film as The United States of Donnie, deriding it as nothing more than an inferior copy of the cult movie Donnie Darko. While this is in many ways unfair and overly simplistic, there are an astonishing number of similarities between the two pictures. A cult film is a movie that attracts a small but devoted group of obsessive fans or one that has remained popular over successive years amongst a small group of followers. ... Donnie Darko is a 2001 film, the first by writer and director Richard Kelly. ...

• Both feature protagonists trying to reconcile their gentle temperaments with their violent behavior. Both heroes see things differently than other people and both reveal the sexual misadventures of an authority figure. They also look alike: both characters have dark, frazzled hair and a marked preference for hooded sweatshirts.
• In both, Jena Malone portrays as an emotionally-troubled love interest. In both, she wears a school uniform and notices an older man staring at her lecherously.
• Both feature two authors, one selfish, one helpful. In USL, they are Albert T. Fitzgerald and Pearl Madison; in DD, they are Jim Cunningham and Roberta Sparrow.
• Both movies feature a teacher fighting "the system" and risking his or her job to help students.
• In both, a plane trip to a major city is a turning point.
• In USL, Leland lives with his divorced mother while his girlfriend is part of a family of five: father, mother, two sisters, brother. In DD, this is reversed: Donnie is part of a family of five--father, mother, two sisters, brother--while his girlfriend lives with her divorced mother. In both films, the older sister is dating a boy who is involved in someone's death.

In spite of some of these similarities, the overall plots of the two films are far from similar. Even the genres of the two films differ (Donnie Darko is generally a sci-fi film while Leland is a straight drama). Sci-fi is an abbreviation for science fiction. ...

External links

• The United States of Leland at the Internet Movie Database
• Anatomy of a Scene:  The United States of Leland, from the Sundance Channel website