Movie

The United States of Leland

2003 · 108 min

A quiet, haunting plunge into sadness and moral confusion, watching a detached boy's inner world unravel through gentle, uneasy conversations.

Directed by: Matthew Ryan Hoge
Genres: Crime, Drama
Starring: Don Cheadle, Ryan Gosling, Chris Klein

Tagline: Crime. Confusion. Compassion. They're all just states of mind.
Overview: A withdrawn young man, Leland Fitzgerald is imprisoned for the murder of a mentally disabled boy, who also happened to be the brother of his girlfriend, Becky. As the community struggles to deal with the killing, Pearl Madison, a teacher at the prison, decides to write about Leland's case. Meanwhile, others affected by the murder, including Becky and her sister, Julie, must contend with their own problems.

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Directed by: Matthew Ryan Hoge
Genres: Crime, Drama
Starring: Don Cheadle, Ryan Gosling, Chris Klein

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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone: melancholicstrength 3 of 3
darkstrength 2 of 3
bleakstrength 2 of 3
earneststrength 1 of 3
Pacing: slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: grief
isolation
guilt
morality
loneliness
Places: small town
prison
Era: contemporary
Audience: adult
Form: nonlinear
Content intensity: Gore mild
Language mild
Violence strong
Sex mild

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	1
Horror	2
Humour	2
Realism	7
Romance	3
Tension	5
Darkness	8
Complexity	7
Emotional weight	8

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