Subj : quote of the day
To   : alt.tv.farscape
From : Tyler Trafford
Date : Sun Sep 18 2005 05:24:26

From Newsgroup: alt.tv.farscape

[ I did originally just intend to post a funny quote... I guess I was
bored and/or annoyed.  SOMEBODY TAKE THE KEYBOARD AWAY FROM ME! ;) ]

_The United States of Leland_

"Maybe they're lazy."
   -Jena Malone's character, on how guardian angels can exist
    when 'everything's not okay most of the time'.


I really liked this movie.  It's interesting how many positive user
reviews there are for this on Netflix and IMDb, while nearly all of the
professional reviewers didn't like it.

-spoilers-


















"A moral muddle."
  -Roger Ebert, on the film in question.

Their main complaint seemed to be that the character of Leland's victim,
a young autistic boy, was made autistic only to seem disposable so that
the viewer would sympathize with Leland and care about what he had to
say.

I don't see this as the case at all.  Any thought that this was what the
writers were going for is pretty much blown away at the end when you see
how much Leland relates to the boy in any case.

Ebert's review seems as though he interprets the writing and plot in an
overly linear fashion, not noting that the subplots[1] he sees as
superflous drive and reinforce the talks Leland has with hs teacher- and
it really is the teacher, played by Don Cheadle, who is the center of
that part of the story.

In my mind the point of the plot was never to make the viewer
sympathetic or even understanding of the murder he commited, it was to
understand the emotions that were in Leland that made[2] him take such a
bad turn in life.

  Leland, who has historically suppressed most of his emotions, has an
episode of depression that he is unable to cope with.  He begins to
project his feelings onto the people around him, seeing the sadness of
the world, which just makes him more depressed.
  When he meets up with Ryan, the autistic brother of his ex-girlfriend,
he especially sees himself reflected in Ryan's situation- and it is
Leland's desire to end his own life (though never expicitly stated) that
pushes him over the edge and convinces him to put Ryan out of 'his'
misery.  The actual act Leland has apparently no memory of.

I can't help but find this to be too complex to sum up, as Ebert does,
with "Because of the sadness."

While locked up, Leland writes, "I know what they want from me.  They
want a why."  In fact the movie's big question is, "Why do people do bad
things."  Leland's ultimate answer, in contrast to a plot full of
possible justifications and backstory (for the actions of other
characters in the movie as well) is, "Because we want to."  Leland,
though disguised as the main character, serves more as the detached
thematic narrator for the subplots, which contain the more relatable
people.

Ebert claimed that the film was "on everybody's side", but I disagree.
It wasn't on Leland's side when it came to the murder of Ryan and his
subsequent inprisonment, he was always shown to be the one in the wrong.
What Ebert was noticing was that Leland wasn't really a bad guy, he was
normally a nice guy who commited a totally unforgivable act.

The 'good guys' and 'bad guys' that Ebert (and other reviewers, I'm just
picking on him) is looking for are there in plain sight.  It is just
that the characters, like people, alternate between the two from moment
to moment.


[1] I see his point about the family-of-the-victim subplot not being
really connected, but I believe that is there so that it is totally
impossible for the viewer to not think about what Leland did.

[2] I wrote 'made' here (and left it so I could make this point) before
rereading and realizing the mistake.  Leland chose his path despite the
circumstances occured, and the film makes a point of this in dialogue,
though Leland phrases his comments to refer to actions of the teacher.
-- 
Tyler Trafford

Charm is a way of getting the answer "Yes" -- without having asked any
clear question.

.