The United States of Leland (2003)

The United States of Leland

• I can’t tell you how long I’ve been waiting to watch this film. It just kind of floated around in not-available-to-stream-unless-you-rent-it land, and I never wanted to rent it. BUT, on a whim, I looked it up on Google, and sure enough, it was on Paramount+, so I immediately jumped on it. Yes, I only wanted to watch it because Ryan Gosling is in it, but even if he wasn’t, I still would’ve enjoyed it. Probably not as much, but I still would’ve. I think the biggest problem with the film was in the writing department. There was a good chunk of it that made sense and teaches good lessons, but there was also a lot that felt very mushed and muddled together. There were too many loose ends and I was left stranded with some questions. I understood the implications, but I still don’t think everything wrapped up like it should’ve. But like I said, I did enjoy it, and grew very much to love Leland, despite the things he did. The performances were pretty good, mostly from Ryan and Don Cheadle. They definitely weren’t anything super out there or memorable, but they were just enough to draw your sympathy and understand their decisions (somewhat). Everyone else was a little bland, but the two most important men definitely stood out. Overall, yes, this film does have some issues, but I still thought it was a good look at mental aspects of certain…..decisions, and it tells a good story. I’d probably recommend it to most drama fans.