Ever have that feeling that you just watched a movie while completely drugged up?
So can be said about "Southland Tales," from "Donnie Darko" director Richard Kelly.
The plot-as best that can be surmised-takes place in a post-apocalyptic United States, where each state, essentially, is its own country. You need a visa to go from one state to another. Soldiers from one state fire upon those from another, terrorists internal to the US. It is the year 2008, an election year. And the votes that count are only one state: California. The Golden State itself is broken into separate sections, not necessarily of counties.
The section focused on here is the Southland, near Los Angeles.
The mysterious disappearance and discovery of action film star Boxer Santaros (Dwayne Johnson) has created a stir across the Southland. Santaros is suffering from amnesia, not knowing how he ended up in the desert-or with a dead body in his car.
Not knowing that he has a wife, Madeline (Mandy Moore), who just happens to be the daughter of one of the two Presidential candidates. Santaros shacks up with an adult film star named Krysta Now (Sarah Michelle Gellar).
You see, there are plans in motion by two opposite groups to take Santaros, whomever which will help swing the election, which hinges on Proposition 69, something that is tied to the Patriot Act. The government has now overtaken every aspect of citizen privacy. US Ident is a section of the government that surveys everything that goes on with cameras in places that range from the Venice Beach to men's restrooms.
The Neo-Marxists, an anti-US Ident group, want Santaros to bargain and ransom with his father-in-law future president. They are also the same group that kidnapped Roland Taverner (Seann William Scott), a police officer who is suffering from mental problems similar to those of Santaros. All these events are narrated by Private Pilot Aberline (Justin Timberlake) and build up to a July 4th celebration, the anniversary of the nuclear war.
Really, the movie's plot is a hodge podge of so many different elements. There's comedy, political thriller and even a musical number or two. For the first hour-and-a-half or so, the movie drags slowly along, going through all the set-up of every little intertwining story. Then, at about the 1:30 mark, the screen comes alive and the film becomes a solid piece of filmmaking, but, in the end, the last 20 minutes somewhat fall apart.
The acting is second to the assembling of a massive ensemble cast that includes a former pro wrestler (Johnson aka "The Rock"), Saturday Night Live cast members (Amy Poehler, Cheri Oteri, Jon Lovitz), and fanboy icons (Gellar, Kevin Smith and Christopher Lambert?!?). Timberlake, though, really does well and is probably the best of the eclectic group of performers. Johnson and Scott also are good, showing some emotional range.
Kelly is considered a cult filmmaker, since "Darko" has achieved that status some years ago. While I've not seen it, I can understand what I've heard about this: those who have not seen "Darko" may not get "Southland Tales." But I will go one step further. This movie has two types of review: love it or hate it. I, however, will stay in a rational middle ground with a slight leaning towards the good.
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