Subj : Re: quote of the day
To   : alt.tv.farscape
From : Jim Larson
Date : Sun Sep 18 2005 05:37:01

From Newsgroup: alt.tv.farscape

Tyler Trafford wrote:

> [ 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.

Wha?

(Just tell me if I need to netflix it or not.)

-- 
Jim

.