From NetFlix:
Teenager Leland Fitzgerald appears to have everything going for him, including a famous writer father. So, what drove him to kill? It’s up to a teacher who works with inmates to unearth the anger and fear lurking beneath Leland’s unruffled surface.
Sadness and a questioning sense of despair pervades this quiet gem of a film. Every character has done something regrettable or been hurt, betrayed, or murdered by someone close to them. “Are we all evil or is there real goodness in at least some people ?” is the repeated theme in the film. Most of the film is “talking heads” as opposed to any action. You never actually see violence.
Perhaps I am prejudiced but I think of Ryan Gosling as an actor’s actor. Look him up in IMDB to see his amazing resumé. During the filming Ryan, who plays Leland Fitzgerald, was 23 years old, but seemed somehow much younger. Despite his young age, that spark of originality that sets him apart was still apparent.
Don Cheadle plays Pearl Madison who evolves during the plot from a exploitive wannabe writer to a repentant, caring, wiser person.
Kevin Spacey plays the writer Albert T. Fitzgerald who is Leland’s emotionally absent father. He is perfect as a smug, sarcastic, egocentric bastard who completely ignores his son.
Despite the pervasive sadness and sense of loneliness, you can always appreciate a quiet gem.
DO NOT MISS!