Southland Tales
An audacious, fractured vision of Los Angeles where amnesia, celebrity culture, and political conspiracy collide on the eve of catastrophe.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Labyrinthine
- Violence
- Moderate
- surreal
- paranoid
- manic
- cult movie night
- late night viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film's futuristic vision intriguing but considered its sprawling structure, long runtime, dialogue, and execution frustratingly incoherent and unpolished.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The Los Angeles disaster landscape, Middle Eastern conflict references, surveillance, and political conspiracy create an overtly post-9/11 atmosphere.
The ensemble plot links amnesia, undercover identities, smuggling, prophecy, and a vast conspiracy across multiple character threads.
Krysta Now's adult-film celebrity and reality television ambitions coexist with action stardom, political messaging, and apocalyptic spectacle.
The story transforms Los Angeles into a futuristic landscape on the brink of environmental, economic, and social disaster.
Films like Southland Tales, and why
Mulholland Drive
surreal conspiracy narrative, psychological dislocation, and apocalyptic suburban atmosphere
Donnie Darko
ambitious nonlinear science fiction, end-times imagery, and divisive formal experimentation
The Running Man
political dystopia, media satire, and heightened near-future social breakdown
Cloud Atlas
fragmented ensemble storytelling, conspiracy themes, and paranoid american political satire
Movie Details
- Director
- Richard Kelly
- Release Date
- 2007-11-14
- Runtime
- 145 min
- Rating
- 5.3 / 10 (641)
Cast
- Dwayne Johnson
- Seann William Scott
- Sarah Michelle Gellar
- Mandy Moore
- Justin Timberlake
- Miranda Richardson
- Wallace Shawn
- Bai Ling
- Nora Dunn
- John Larroquette
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Hulu
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Southland Tales about?
- An audacious, fractured vision of Los Angeles where amnesia, celebrity culture, and political conspiracy collide on the eve of catastrophe.
- What is Southland Tales like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Southland Tales as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as labyrinthine.
- Is Southland Tales violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Southland Tales as moderate.
- What did critics think of Southland Tales?
- Critics broadly found the film's futuristic vision intriguing but considered its sprawling structure, long runtime, dialogue, and execution frustratingly incoherent and unpolished.
- Which films are like Southland Tales?
- Films with a similar feel include Mulholland Drive, Donnie Darko, The Running Man, and Cloud Atlas.
- How long is Southland Tales?
- Southland Tales runs 145 minutes.
- Where can I watch Southland Tales?
- In United States, Southland Tales streams on Hulu.
