Floated2 Leaves of Grass is a small film by Tim Blake Nelson which is about a twin brother Bill (Ed Norton) who is a professor at Brown Univeristy, and Brady a marijuana dealer in Oklahoma. It starts out with Bill getting a surprising call telling him that his Brady was killed. This then leads to Bill going down to Oklahoma to pay his homage and find out more answers. However he is unaware that it was a prank made by Brady to convince him in going down to visit him. Along the way they both start to get along, and we see the chemistry with the characters.The film was not what I expected. It starts out as a somewhat light hearted comedy than changes towards a drama then a more crime flick (around an hour way through the film). The tone of the film changes once the first killing happens (Brady kills Pug along with his two men). The deaths came from left field however I felt it was necessary to push the story. Another subplot which randomly kicks in is the orthodontist from Bill's plane ride finds his way down to Oklahoma and has his encounters with Bill, Brady and their friends. We first see him as a fast talking manic, then he suddenly changes into a psycho as he ends up 'accidentally' killing Brady with the shotgun.Leaves of Grass is very well acted which elevates the film as a whole. Great directing and the scenery is wonderful. The film is more described as a dark comedy and it fits its description well.

abbyjo58 Lines from Walt Whitman are interwoven with other theories of Creation, such as geometry and insects. Poetic lines written by Tim Blake Nelson, who also wrote, directed, played Bolger and produced an understated commentary on what might be updated Whitman. Ed Norton's characters remind me of Tom Hanks with a splash of Gomer Pyle, or Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, but somehow it works, no character is all good, none all evil, man is complex.Filmed in Shreveport, Louisiana, you get interesting, ever-changing scenery, never predictable. In addition to Ed Norton, other name brand actors are Dryfuss, Sarandon, DeVito's daughter (who has his eyes) and Ty Burrell.Not at all like Cheech & Chong!

steveman1236 There are so many movies nowadays that feel like that same thing over and over and over again. Movies that deal with superheroes. Movies about talking robots. Movies about making fun of other movies. "Leaves of Grass" is a film.Edward Norton, in probably his finest performance yet, stars as twin brothers Bill and Brady Kincaid. Bill is a classics professor at Brown University, whereas Brady is a dope dealer in Oklahoma. Their mother, Daisy, resides at a retirement home, though she is still young.The plot begins with Bill arriving in Oklahoma because he has received news that Brady has been murdered, shot by a crossbow ("They're inexplicably popular where I come from..."). But soon Bill founds at his brothers death has been grossly exaggerated: Brady is not dead, but is in debt to a local drug lord and hatches a plan to get rid of the debt that involves Bill, and so on.Overall, "Leaves of Grass" is a funny, sometimes violent, but above all, an involving comedy. Some critics dislike the movie for its abrupt tonal changes but I actually quite like them. It's unexpected and original and I don't think I've seen a film before that changed genres quite so much.There are only a few problems with "Leaves of Grass". Sure, the lead acting is great and the writing is phenomenal (actually, one of my favorite scripts) but I felt that some of the minor performances, such as the one from DeVito and Campell, were a bit flawed. And Tim Blake Nelson could have done so much better with the directing. I just felt like the whole film was shot like a TV show, the way it looked.But besides those minute flaws, "Leaves of Grass" is an enjoyable black comedy.

StChom This has been compared to Fargo for good reasons.The regional depiction, funny (on a light side) but above all respectful. Nice approach. Bursts of absurd violence, a work on some secondary characters, the Jewish clin d'oeil, even the music, and the knowledge we now have of the author's admiration for the brothers... Yes, a lot calls for this comparison.Above all, the Coen's cynical morals and views on human condition and destinies bathe the movie, but here are finally uplifted by a conscience opening. This is both moving and enlightening (where the Coens left you desperate and lost). (and to note is past collaboration and probably current admiration of the author for Terrence Malick)I have not read the Whitman poems the movie ultimately (and quite frontly) refers to, excuse my french, but I can imagine they are of that "nature" of transcendence. Is the movie a manifest ? Far from it, but now I have to look for a good translation of the book, as I have been for a "Walden" one...We don't have to score the comparison, suffice to acknowledge the brothers stay in a class of themselves (the amazing work on their characters, the focus they keep on their development, the total absence of unconscious clichés, etc...).But here we have an entertaining but not shallow, referential but honest, and overall greatly pleasing movie on itself.Nice work, Tim, Blake, Nelson...