Interesteg What makes it different from others?

SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Bereamic Awesome Movie

Clarissa Mora The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Desertman84 Leo is a psychological drama that stars Joseph Fiennes,Elisabeth Shue, Justin Chambers and Sam Shepard.The screenplay was written by Amir Tadjedin and Massy Tadjedin and it was directed by Mehdi Norowzian.A literary drama offering the parallel tales of two wounded souls, director Norowzian's tale of redemption and the struggle to find one's place in life finds an ex-convict's correspondence with a young boy offering hope for the future despite the fact that the boy has yet to find his own place in the world. Believing that her husband has been unfaithful, Mary Bloom embarks on an affair with a young handyman that results in her pregnancy. Racked with guilt when her husband dies in a car accident shortly thereafter, Mary begins to hate her son, Leo, leaving the youngster hungering for affection. Assigned correspondence with a convict for a class project, the withdrawn Leo begins to form a close bond with Stephen, who increasingly relies on his communication with Leo as a form of cathartic repentance. When Stephen is released from jail, he gets a job at a diner where concerned co-workers Vic and Caroline attempt to help him establish himself on the outside. Simultaneously brutalized by local drunk Horace, Stephen decides to leave the diner and search for the boy whose letters carried him through his darkest days. Leo is a well-written drama of psychological depth.The plot simmers along nicely, dipping and weaving between the two story lines flawlessly. But it wasn't enough to be more than just an entertaining movie and nothing more.

RitchCS First of all you must be an adult who likes serious drama to watch this film, otherwise, negative comments don't qualify. For a first time director to helm a cast of extremely talented actors, he's created a drama just short of a masterpiece. Joseph Fiennes is one of the most underrated actors working today. His mastery of the American southern dialect is superb. Elizabeth Shue, who is constantly overlooked when juicy female roles are doles out, once again delivers a remarkable performance as does Deb Unger in a lesser and difficult role. Sam Shepard and Dennis Hopper are up to par as usual. This talented cast worked for scale and for the sheer love of the project and it shows. For a low-budget independent film, the DP went to great lengths to set up unusual photography and is better than most 'A' pictures. The flashbacks and present day stories are combined so well and naturally, it's easy for anyone to follow the engrossing plot of a kid, born out of wedlock, the night his mother's husband and daughter were killed in an auto accident. Shue, the mother, blames Leo, (Fiennes) the rest of his life which leads him to murder and prison while trying to save his mother's life. But even then, she won't come to his defense. It's a cold picture of child abuse and neglect of a smart intelligent kid longing to be loved while always trying to do the right thing, no matter the consequence. The movie is heavy drama and if you expect less, you'll be disappointed.

notantisocial I try not to have great hopes for movies, however I was pleasantly surprised. I was afraid that it was going to dark, but instead it offers a very strong main character. Not like a action bondy type, but a rare inquisitive thoughtful man. There are some dark elements to it where people are just cruel. The story time line is not linear, and I was impressed at how well the whole thing ended. Its not really a feel- good type, definitely was a cure for the common movie. While not being perfect, I really enjoyed it.

Cooper75 Leo is a film made up of two story strands, one detailing the experiences of a newly released prisoner and another tells the tragic tale of a bored 50's housewife whose life takes a downward spiral. Gradually, these two story strands weave together in a predictable fashion, but the film loses none of it's power despite this rather obvious 'twist'.Leo had been sitting on the shelf for a couple of years untill it's recent release in the U.K. and in my opinion it's difficult to see why. From the stunning cinematography employed, to the universally excellent performances, it's a small winner all round. Obviously not a commercial film but so much rubbish is dumped into cinemas nowadays there is a lot of room for films like this.As stated above, the film has two plotlines running together. The way in which the director takes us to one, and then the other is done cleverly and in no way detracts from the flow of the picture. The cinematography is a times breathtaking. In the scene in which the character of Steven is released from prison, the barbed wire fences behind him look almost beautiful in the sunlight's reflection. Combined with quick edits of his character running against a clear blue sky, the sequence is quite exhilirating.The performances in Leo also deserve praise. Joseph Fiennes as Steven is excellent, watch out for the scene in which he confronts Dennis Hoppers character in the back room of a diner.Elisabeth Shue is as good as in Leaving Las Vegas, if not better. Her descent into alcoholism from straight laced housewife is acted perfectly, her reaction to some devastating news delivered by two policemen is heartbreakingly delivered.Even if the final revelation is painfully predictable, (though there is a quite unexpected plot point revealed late on) and some of the supporting characters are drawn in very broad strokes, Leo ultimately delivers. It's well directed, well acted, looks gorgeous and is quietly moving in it's own way. And you'll still be thinking about it as you walk away from the theater.How many films can you say that about these days?