I'd really like to be able to tell you that this movie is worth seeing, that this little indy flick about small town Iowa life and the perils of methamphetamine is gripping and smart and honest. But this film isn't gripping. It isn't smart. It isn't honest. It is steaming pile of confused and confusing storytelling mixed together with a relentless kaleidoscope of visual stylizing. From inexplicable accents and morphing beards to nonsensical schemes and magical lacerations to ridiculously excessive editing and a character that looks and acts like he just stepped out of The Time Tunnel, Iowa is just one stupid and irritating thing after another.While it's ostensibly about a pair of young lovers named Esper Harte and Donna Huffman (Matt Farnsworth and Diane Foster) descending into a meth-fueled haze of violence and hallucinations, there are too many elements of this tale that don't make sense on the most rudimentary level for it to be about anything except how much it sucks. I mean, it's clear that writer/director Matt Farnsworth wants to say something about the meth problem in Iowa. It's also clear that he believes he can say it by ineptly aping the style of Requiem for a Dream. What's absolutely unmistakable, however, is that Farnsworth is incapable of telling any story more complicated than "see Spot run".Let me just give you one example of the head-scratchingly incompetent writing at work here. Early on in the movie, Esper gets thrown in jail on a drug charge by corrupt corrections officer Larry (Michael T. Weiss) as part of a plan to kill him and get the money left to Esper by his dead father. All we see of Esper in jail is him slumped up against the wall in a prison cell with someone leering at him. Larry then asks Donna to come down to his office, whereupon he spends several hours raping her over and over. He lets Donna go. She gets some money and bails out her boyfriend…and that somehow foils Larry's attempt to kill Esper. There's never a hint of how or when Esper was supposed to get murdered. There's not a glimmer of an explanation for why Larry decided to spend an evening raping Donna or how he thought he could get away with it. Nothing in the entire sequence of events makes a lick of sense.And it's not just big stuff like that which is screwed up in this movie. It's also little things like Esper's beard constantly changing shape and length. It randomly ranges from relatively trimmed to nearly Amish-like in dimension. Esper gets a cut on his forehead. Then the cut disappears. Then it reappears. And that's not because the story jumps around in some non-linear fashion. They simply forgot the cut makeup one day while they were shooting a scene. And then there are these weirdly southern accents that creep into the dialog at times. Unlike people from Minnesota or Wisconsin, Iowans are renowned for having a dialect without inflection. But this film seems to believe that all white trash are descended from the same tribe somewhere in Kentucky.By far the strangest aspect of Iowa is the character of Larry. It's not that he's cartoonishly evil. It's that while the film is clearly set in the early to mid 2000s, Larry looks like he wakes up every morning in 1973. His clothes, his manner and his facial hair are all from a completely different era than every other person in the story. Michael T. Weiss appears to be having some fun playing this walking, talking anachronism, but that doesn't change how awesomely misplaced the character is in this movie.As someone born and bred in the Hawkeye State, it pains me to say that Iowa is one of those films where all you can do is sit and marvel at how awful it is.

Although I wouldn't say this is the best movie I've seen, I thought that it did drive home the addicting and devastating effects of meth production, sale and use. The acting, for the most part, was captivating. I've lived in Iowa for almost a year now, and some folks have been worried about the perspective this gives of the state. I think that the movie really could have been placed in any rural community and still drive home the point. Quite honestly, I think that without the sex scenes, if this movie was shown to junior high school and high school students, it would quell any curiosity to try meth (particularly, I think, the tweaking scene and its aftermath). I still think "Requiem for a Dream" is a better movie that talks about the effects of dreams and the use of drugs to attain those dreams, but I have recommended this movie to many friends as a must-see movie.

Well, I don't think the picture is as bad as most of the reviews make it out to be. . . but there's no denying that it's got problems.Mostly, the problems are in the script. There's a plot - but not much story, and certainly not one that anybody could call plausible; it trots out any number of self-consciously strange and/or stereotypical characters, lines, moments, what-have-you and, by the end, it just hasn't added up to much in this department.Sorry, but I couldn't care less about whatever "social ill" Farnsworth might be trying to address; there will always be a sector of the population willing to do just about anything to shred their brains, even if it requires running around corn fields trying to steal ammonia, or whatever it is those morons do. So, as a film, you won't find me calling "Iowa" "important." But, at a stylistic level, the picture is more than interesting and some of Farnsworth's choices in depicting a meth-head's wigged-out state are beautiful, hilarious, disturbing and - yes, I'm going to say it - inspired.The acting is uneven, but that just may be a casualty of the afore-praised stylistic reaching. Look, Rosanna Arquette is a fine actress - but she's not very good here, so a discriminating audience member does have to ask, "What happened?" It's weird that Diane Foster manages a simplicity and grace that so few of the other actors can come anywhere near. For example, I might seriously consider whatever explanation Farnsworth could provide for Michael T. Weiss's over-the-top turn as a probation officer, but I doubt I'd ever buy it; It Just Doesn't Work. Then again, it's the most alive and in the moment that I've seen John Savage appear in years. So go figure.This is the sort of work that tantalizes, but does not promise - and that's okay; neither Farnsworth nor anyone else is required to make movies. So, whether or not Farnsworth has another film in him remains to be seen, but if he does, it seems pretty likely that it won't be bland pap. In an age when people are planning their lives around the latest installment of "American Idol," perhaps we could allow, not scorn, Farnsworth's legitimate and undeniably flawed film. What is more, perhaps we could welcome, not berate, his energetic and sometimes blessedly idiosyncratic imagination.

The wonderful efforts of Matt Farnsworth are to be applauded. It is crucial that people become aware of this epidemic problem, which is exactly what Meth use is- It is a horrible world to get into, and Matt Farnsworth recognized this, as upon returning to his hometown, he was shocked by the addiction, destruction, and devastation he saw around him. Yes, it is Rural Iowa, USA- Yes, it is a huge problem in the 'ol Hawkeye State. I am a former user- a "Soccer Mom", and it is indescribable to tell those what this dark world is about. Mr. Farnsworth's film could only show his rendition in this movie the best he could- He researched intensely to make this film, and this movie was shown in an intelligent way, as best it could be. The addiction is very difficult to represent by actors, but, this young, bright man valiantly did all he could to show an account of a real family. I've been there- done that. Been clean for over 4 years, and am counseling gals who have hit rock bottom- Their stories are ugly- shocking- devastating. Everybody has a story- and hats off to Mr. Farnsworth for his attempts to allow the Movie Audience to see what this world is all about. It is a huge task to take the viewer into a world they've never known- Perhaps it is "an individual you know", or a family member, a parent, a child. Methamphetamine use is rampant in this country- The title of this movie- "Iowa" - is offensive to those from the Hawkeye State- but, folks, it is time to wake up- this problem is in epidemic ratios- It is getting worse. This movie is just a "taste" of what the "druggie" world is about. There are so many stories- so many lives shattered- this "drug of the devil" takes much (sometimes all) away from those who find themselves lost in this world. Iowa is a wonderful beautiful State, but, it is also a drug haven of Meth Users. Thanks to Matt Farnsworth for the eye opener. I have taken this drug out of my life- a former user- from the Hawkeye State. I pray this Movie will assist someone out there in breaking the chains, and get out of this horrible lifestyle. At best, I do pray that somebody who has a loved one who is using can benefit from this Film by becoming educated on this wonderful piece of work about such a bad topic. This is far from a comedy, folks. It is a story of tragedy, hopelessness, and the measures addicts take to obtain methamphetamine- cooking meth is one common way for addicts to "gain their gold". Take heed, this is a film that the viewer must pay attention to, as, this is not as "out there" as some critics think! GOD BLESS YOU MATT FARNSWORTH- KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!