The United States of Leland

The United States of Leland is a 2003 American drama film by director Matthew Ryan Hoge and producer Kevin Spacey about a meek teenaged boy named Leland P. Fitzgerald (Ryan Gosling) 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. The film begins with a flashback narrated by Leland P. Fitzgerald (Gosling), describing how he couldn't remember the details of the day that he killed a intellectually disabled boy named Ryan Pollard (Michael Welch). Leland is arrested while the rest of the town reacts with shock to the senseless murder. Ryan's parents (Martin Donovan and Ann Magnuson), sisters Becky (Jena Malone) and Julie (Michelle Williams), as well as Julie's live-in boyfriend Allen (Chris Klein) grieve the loss of their loved one. Leland's divorced mother (Lena Olin) is desperate to see her son, while his...