PARK CITY -- "The United States of Leland" is a complex and often compelling melodrama, at times almost verging on soap opera. Writer-director Matthew Ryan Hoge in an eye-catching debut is attempting to demonstrate what a slippery slope morality can be. (It mirrors Sundance's opening-night film, "Levity," both by writer-directors who have worked in juvenile detention centers and strive to make a "monster" comprehensible.) Despite how well made the film is with finely nuanced performances from a stellar cast and a fascinating jigsaw-puzzle narration, its commercial potential is limited.

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