The United States of Leland script review

"Howdy folks. I just finished reading the script for The United States of Leland which I'm told premieres at Sundance this Sunday. The script is by Matthew Ryan Hoge and is dated 1999. The film will star Ryan Gosling as the title character. The rest of the cast is first rate including Don Cheadle, Kevin Spacey, Chris Klein, Lena Olin, Jenna Malone, Sherilyn Fenn and Ann Magnuson. The story is of a bright teenager who suddenly veers off course and brutally murders an autistic teen. Sent to a juvenile detention center following the murder, Leland is befriended by a teacher, Pearl Madison (Cheadle), who helps him sort out his life and why it led him to commit murder.

This is like a murder mystery except that we know who did it right from the start. What we don't know is why. Leland P. Fitzgerald is a bright young man who seems to have it all. His father is a renowned author. Leland is in love with Becky (Malone). But in this script, when you take a closer look, all manner of cracks appear in this happy little life. Arthur Fitzgerald (Spacey) may be a great writer but he's a lousy father, absent since Leland was six. His girlfriend hides a drug addiction from him, as well as a relationship with a drug dealer. But still this doesn't seem like enough to explain the murder.

What the script tries to do while sorting out Leland's motivations is show how tragedy impacts people's lives and how they try to deal with it. Some people use it as motivation to improve their lives. Others lash out blindly in anger. Still others struggle with depression, simply trying to hold on to some semblance of a reasonable life. And of course there are those who will try to profit by the misery of others. Several main characters are targeted for observation by the script but it also touches on the general populace. The senseless murder of an innocent doesn't exactly sit well with a town.

This is a complex story that is mostly handled well but at times the scope of the story seems to get away from the writer. There are a few too many characters, which often caused me to back up and check on who was who to keep things straight. This should be less of a problem on film where there will be faces to remember but still it's a lot to remember. The arc of Leland's character could stand better pacing as well. For a long time he's a total enigma, detached emotionally and impenetrable to the audience. When Pearl finally gets him to open up it comes in a rush, making his story feel a bit hurried. The same can be said of Pearl. He's a fascinating character but there isn't quite enough time for him to develop nicely. Arthur, Leland's father, is an important part of the puzzle but he only gets a few short scenes to develop in, far short of what he needs. The same can be said of Leland's mother, who I never really felt I knew.

What the script does well is bring out the emotional problems that can turn teens into killers. We've seen any number of them in the news and the dominant question is always why. Why did these seemingly normal teens suddenly turn to murder? The answer isn't simple and this script gives us a good idea why. It doesn't take one event to cause this kind of problem. No, it takes years of problems and failings to develop this sort of individual. By the end of the film, it's almost possible to understand Leland's motivation although it is impossible to condone. We realize that this seemingly normal teen has been undermined emotionally for years until he reaches the point where he has lost touch with basic human emotion. He now starts to twist what he sees in life into a thoroughly depressing world view.

Since this copy of the script is almost three years old, I'll assume that it has been rewritten to some extent. Hopefully that pared down the characters studied closely and paced the story better. These complaints are major only in that by trying to do too much Hoge runs the risk of muddying and obscuring his basic themes. Overall though, I found this to be a thoughtful script that lays a nice groundwork that the talented cast should be able to flesh out nicely."

(Review submitted by John Shea)

The DeadPool Mail Diary

I've received some really great emails in the last few weeks. Let's start with the weirdest thing I've ever received. It's feedback from my review of About Schmidt:

Sorry - no access to diacriticals - poor spelling of French words guaranteed.

Jean Francois,

I feel for you like the old roue
Does for the randy young buck
If you knew what I know
You'd romance a rhino
And give thanks to God for your luck.

Am I supposed to feel sorry for the guy who actually LIKES caviar?

I daresay five years after a freak accident blinds you
you don't think the same way about what makes somebody attractive.
Don't sighted people think of it as mostly visual?

I wouldn't throw Kathy Bates out of bed for feeding her lap dog in it. Just hearing she was going to show a lot more of her collection this time got me down to the box office faster. Why not, indeed.

Steven Strauss
72% of the way to Warren Schmidt in Oakland CA

Allrighty then. Next up is a really nice email from someone who read Hollyfeld's script review of Mona Lisa's Smile:

Questions, comments, praise, etc. Ok! I thouroughly enjoyed reading your column about Mona Lisa Smile - it had personality - fancy that! Not like so many columns that are, well, really boring and not worth reading to get whatever small piece of information buried deep within. I look forward to reading more!

Kelly Moore

Thank you for those kind words. Next up is a reader's question:

Hello,
I have been trying to find out for years if there will be a
ID4 sequel?

Sincerely,
     Rafiki

I doubt it. It has been seven years since ID4 and nothing concrete has been set. Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin have gone their separate ways and Will Smith has become a huge superstar. I don't see why any of them would reunite for an encore. I could imagine FOX trying to make some sort of spinoff sequel with Bill Pullman or Jeff Goldblum but it would be suicide financially. We'll finish up this diary with a really nice email:

I just wanted to say that after reading one of your columns, I had to go back and read a couple more just to see what you would say. Your columns are very good, they are intelligent and interesting.

The Clandestine Samurai

Stay tuned...

That's all folks...

Jean-François Allaire (aka DeadPool)

Related Items:

• American Beauty (1999)
• Hotel Rwanda (2004)
• K-PAX (2001)
• Lars and the Real Girl
• Mission to Mars (2000)

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