Southland Tales - a Movie Review

Southland Tales is a drama starring Dwayne Johnson, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Seann William Scott. Dwayne plays Boxer Sanaros, an actor suffering from amnesia who is also married to the daughter of a presidential candidate. Sarah Michelle Gellar stars as Krysta Now, a porn star turned popular talk show host. Seann William Scott is Ronald Taverner, a police officer who gets entangled in Santaros life. The movie is full of small parts by popular actors. John Larroquette and Cheri Oteri had notable appearances but my personal favorite was Justin Timberlake.

I enjoyed the movie a lot only because it is unlike anything I have ever seen before. Southland Tales is really a bunch of small stories pieced together with the intent of a message. I am assuming Richard Kelly, the director, is trying to relay a message with this movie, probably several messages but they all flew right over my head. I prefer messages spelled out. I really don't like movies that make me think and this one definitely made me think. Now I have a headache from thinking too much. Actually I believe I got the point of the movie but it is hard to tell. I have read so many conflicting reviews of this movie that I am not for sure what the point was anymore. Southland Tales is a movie that needs to be watched more than once.

The movie was over two hours long but I didn't notice. The scenes are pieced together so brilliantly that the time just seemed to fly by. The plot may be confusing but it is definitely entertaining and kept me enthralled the whole time. All of the actors in the film were exceptional, especially Seann William Scott. Dwayne Johnson was good and I was amused by how many times the director found a reason for him to take his shirt off. Not that I minded because his chest is a work of art. I just found it funny that Sanaros was bare-chested numerous times but Krysta Now the porn star always kept her clothes on.

Krysta Now played by Sarah Michelle Gellar is the character that I was most confused by. At times she seemed incredible stupid, just a typical blonde. But in other scenes, she seemed very smart and well aware of what was happening when pretty much everyone else was clueless. Sarah was great in the part but I felt like the character was too inconsistent; or maybe I just missed another message by the director.

I am hesitant to go on about my views of the movie's message because I don't want to influence any one's view of the movie. It is another movie that I recommend for everyone to see so that they can form their own unbiased opinions. If nothing else, the movie is a piece of art that showcases many actors' acting ability. I give the movie 8 out of 10 stars. I wish the ending could have had a little more explanation but overall I was very entertained by Southland Tales.