The United States of Leland

From Freepedia

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.)

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

Criticism

Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.

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.

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).