The movie starts out great. It is smart, sharp, and witty. I would highly recommend doing a quick reading on Whitman's "Leaves of Grass" on Wiki if you are unfamiliar with Whitman's work, what he was trying to accomplish, the criticism of it, as well as the fact he spent his whole life re-writing and expanding it. The movie had the feel of a five star indie in the beginning. Edward Norton, who I have yet to respect as an actor, plays two roles: Bill Kincaid and his twin brother Brad. Bill and Brad are both super intelligent. Brad, the smarter of the two when young, grows pot and enjoys life on the edge. Bill teaches classical philosophy at Brown University. Brad gets his girlfriend pregnant and in order to get Bill to come back to Oklahoma for the wedding, has his friend contact Bill and tell him that he is dead.Brad has other plans for Bill and plans to use him as an alibi. At this point the movie goes from great to WTF? The flick digresses into what appears to be a writer's inability to figure out how to end a story. Brad, as the smarter brother should of had a better scheme, one where everyone gets what they want, rather than do things by the seat of his pants. I was very disappointed in the writers for leading us down a path that would have made a great classic movie and then not being able to close the deal.

This film is a lovely, playful and thoughtful romp through the conflicting forces that make up our modern world.Disguised as a wacky comedy sketching a chiaroscuro of moral, economic and educational themes, the film begins in a charming idyllic intellectual landscape where people delight in epistemological, ethical and ontological questions. To hear unabashed philosophical dialogue and playful joking about classical ideas in such a popular medium as mainstream film is a rare delight, especially done as it is as an affectionate spoof of the sequestered world of academia.Having set the piece in this intellectual arena, to then pull the philosopher out of his element into a world of childhood fears, sensual promise and madcap amorality creates the tension necessary for drama to occur. And there is drama indeed, with sweetness, bitterness, tenderness and violence all stewed together to boil down to some fairly basic and perennial questions about human nature.

Leaves of Grass is a black comedy/drama film that stars Edward Norton, Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Sarandon, Melanie Lynskey and Keri Russell.It is about an Ivy League classics professor becomes mixed up in his lawless identical twin's drug dealings after receiving word that his brother has been murdered, and returning to Oklahoma to discover he's been hoodwinked.This was written and directed by Tim Blake Nelson,who also appears in it.To say that Bill Kincaid is ashamed of his upbringing is an understatement at best. Turning his back on his working-class parents and working diligently to erase any traces of his Southern accent,he develops a reputation as a true scholar dedicated to excellence and philosophical exploration. His brother, Brady, on the other hand, grows weed. Arriving home to find Brady very much alive, Bill winds up mending bridges with their capricious mother, Daisy, and reluctantly agrees to help his brother out of a tight jam involving notorious drug kingpin Pug Rothbaum, who might just send both siblings to an early grave. Meanwhile, Bill can't help noticing that free-spirited poet Janet has somehow managed to find true happiness in the most unlikely surroundings.Edward Norton delivers one of his finest performances in this movie.He was both brilliant and excellent in a dual role as Bill and Brady.Also,keeps the laughs coming at a steady pace, and never condescends to the articulate redneck characters involved in the story.Also,it bubbles with intellectual curiosity and narrative ambition about examination of lost innocence and brotherhood despite the fact that it changes from one tone to another.Overall,it is a good movie to watch to stimulate one's thinking.

It's easy for hacks to say they don't like something if they give no real reasons as to why. Read any of the bad reviews for this film and you'll see what i mean. What more could you want from a an indie dark comedy? It had brilliant performances by both the cinematographer and the cast, all of which were extremely under payed judging by the budget of this film. A spectacularly rich and funny script, and completely original approach to the regional indie. It boasted the Oklahoma landscape without saturating the viewer like a tourism piece and it featured all the right naughty stuff audiences love as far as violence and drugs are concerned. Sure it was a little slow at some points but for those of you who don't remember people had to make films using there minds and original ideas at one point in time without relying on CGI and 3D to make a good film. This movie is not only a throw back to what movies use to be, and artful expression, but subtly uses CGI technology in the proper application; as little as humanly possible. Check it out it's really a great movie and ed Norton will simply blow your mind once again.