leland fitzgerald ( ryan gosling ) be send to jail for the murder of an autistic kid . when pressure with the question why . he doesn not have an answer . while in jail he meet pearl ( don cheadle ) and his teacher and who decide to take matter into his own hand and help leland figure out why he do it . throughout this film we learn all about leland troubled life and include his ex girlfriend becky ( jena malone ) and his famous father albert ( kevin spacey ) and his whole sad life . this film be matthew ryan hoge second movie and and it be spectacular in nearly everyway . this be one movie which will leave you think in the end and and wonder about how it all work . the movie be quite dark and but if you can handle that then you will realize just how good a film it be . in this movie and there be no bad guy . there be no one you can blame for anything that happen . there no stereotyping and and the audience do not try to prove leland guilty . instead and we sit back and relax and and watch this boy life unfold throughout the corse of the movie . all the problem depict in the story be very real . drug addiction and parental expectation and overwhelm sadness while they all exist in our world . ryan gosling give one of the great performance of his career in this movie and a the depressed teenager leland . his father live in europe and doesn not really care much about his son . the only person he love be becky and but she have problem of her own . he know exactly what he do and but a he say in the film and you want a why and but maybe there isn not one . maybe this be something that just happen . there be a why and but we do not find out about it until the end . a you watch the movie and the audience find themselves amaze that such a young person could know so much about the world . leland notice thing that people tend to ignore . a particular thought provoke scene which really affect me be during one of leland conversation with pearl . pearl just cheat on his wife and when leland ask why and pearl reply that he only human . then leland say something which never really occur to anyone represent why do people only say that when they have do something wrong . another fantastic act job be provide by chris klein . in the film he play allen harris and the boyfriend of becky sister julie ( michelle williams ) . although he be not one of the main character and i find myself amaze at how deep his character be . you can relate to allen a lot . you know how much he care for the pollard family . it a if they be his own flesh and blood . by the end of the movie and you realize just how far he would go to help them . overall and this movie be a masterpiece which have be overlook by quite a few people . if and however and you take the time to watch it and you will most likely see that everything i have mention above be true . and once youre finish watch it and you will never look at the world the same way again . 9 . 5/10 .