The United States of Leland
Paramount Classics | Release Date: April 2, 2004 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
37
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
14
Negative:
10
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Film ThreatEric Campos
Thoroughly entertaining and will possibly get you thinking about certain choices you've made in your life. Read full review
80
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
A compelling, exquisitely acted drama about the shock waves emanating from -- and toward -- a single act of almost inexplicable violence. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
A tale of disaffection, devastation and epiphanies of the catastrophic kind. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
A complex and often compelling melodrama, at times almost verging on soap opera. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyChuck Wilson
Only Chris Klein, as the lovesick live-in boyfriend of Becky's sister, is given anything like an active emotional arc to play, and he runs with it so beautifully that he steals the movie. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The screenplay aims high in terms of humanity and complexity, but director Hoge drains it of energy with listless meanderings that provide more yawns than insights. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
I believe it is as cruel and senseless as the killings in "Elephant," but while that film was chillingly objective, this one seems to be on everybody's side. It's a moral muddle. Read full review
50
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
The finished film, while competently acted and staged, has missed the high mark Spacey set for it. It's self-important, tedious and ultimately pointless, with absolutely none of the sardonic wit that remains the most memorable feature of "American Beauty." Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Hoge's film raises more questions than it answers – that's his point, I think, to get us thinking – and Gosling, who previously played the conflicted Jewish Nazi skinhead in "The Believer," inhabits the role of Leland so fully it's as if the character had killed him as well. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneRobert K. Elder
In his thoughtfully paced, well-acted film, Hoge doesn't set out to solve the "why" of Leland's ghastly crime. He's more interested in examining the reason why society needs to create and interpret a reason for horror. Read full review
42
Portland OregonianMarc Mohan
The result is a frustrating and disturbing mishmash of vague philosophical noodling, which even the best-chosen cast can't imbue with zip. Read full review
40
VarietyDavid Rooney
Hoge shows no particular directorial style, bringing a bland, anonymous look to the generic Southern California suburban locations. Read full review
40
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
Hoge, who scripted and directed The United States Of Leland, caters to his cast too much. He gives almost every character a way-too-involved subplot, which distracts from the heart of his story. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
An ambitious and intelligent film probing that chronic contemporary phenomenon, the seemingly senseless crime, but it is ultimately unsatisfying for all its efforts and various pluses. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Fatuous twaddle posing as a REALLY DEEP consideration of what's wrong with our crazy, mixed-up world, Matthew Ryan Hoge's slick but deeply dumb film unfolds in a picture-perfect suburb of Anywheresville, USA. Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
The characters' undiluted self-interest will seem one-dimensional to all but the worst cynics. Read full review
40
EmpireAnna Smith
It's poetic, hypnotic and well-performed, but fails to either draw out its characters with conviction or fully draw its audience in. Read full review
38
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
There's a reason filmmaking is considered a craft, and Hoge, a former teacher in a juvenile prison, cannot pull off what would be a tricky proposition for a skilled veteran. Read full review
38
PremierePeter Debruge
Absence of motive makes the movie provocative; the explanation renders it irrelevant and defuses any interesting debate the film might have inspired. Read full review
38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
The United States of Leland has a resonance of "Elephant" without the visual poetry or structural sophistication, or "American Beauty" without the leavening comedy, but it's neither an insightful nor well-made film. Read full review
30
Village VoiceDennis Lim
The movie's idiotic fascination with the senselessness of its central act is scarily close to a fetish. Read full review
30
The New York TimesDana Stevens
The real question raised by The United States of Leland is not why, but how. How, that is, did so many talented actors find their way to this dreary and derivative study in suburban dysfunction? Read full review
30
Washington PostDesson Thomson
There's something secondhand about everything here. Hoge (this is his debut) seems to be mimicking the tone and fabric of other, better indie movies. Read full review
30
Dallas ObserverMelissa Levine
It's flapping its wings so desperately in pursuit of artistic heights that it nosedives directly into the ground. The relentless exertion makes the film a chore to watch. Read full review
25
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
The United States of Leland is tedious yet infuriating, since its characters, all of whom seem to have emerged from a screenwriter's manual, are like exhibits in a thesis meant to indict the middle class for the crime of its collective dysfunction. Read full review
25
New York PostLou Lumenick
This bomb, which premiered at last year's Sundance Film Festival, belongs in the same remainder bin as Spacey's "Pay It Forward," "K-Pax" and "The Life of David Gale." Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
As bad as its title. Read full review
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