Upon the destruction of two of the United States big cities by nuclear power that leads to havoc and to a third world war at the end, according to the shortage in gas and power and the strict system the country follows.
By the time the movie rolls into its third hour, it's exhausted most of its comic energy, leaving you disoriented and unable to remember much of what you just saw.
As in Kelly's previous film, Southland's flaws, and its scope, are magnificently earnest; the guy is in way over his head, but his flailing is extravagant.
One of the most confusing, ridiculous, pretentious and disastrous cinematic train wrecks I've ever seen.
Chris Sawin
Examiner.com
June 11, 2013
Unusual and extremely ambitious with an alternate reality that is entirely absorbing; Southland Tales is Richard Kelly's magnum opus that only a small few are able to recognize. Thankfully, those small few are pimps. And pimps don't commit suicide.
Writer-director Richard Kelly throws a lot at the wall. The problem, if that's what we should call it, is that everything sticks. That's bad news for those who like some narrative clarity, and great news for those who enjoy bonkers wall art.
As the follow-up to his debut feature, the unexpectedly enduring teen-movie/sci-fi hybrid Donnie Darko, writer-director Richard Kelly has crafted an even more ambitious and far-reaching story
By the climax, his truly ambitious, truly flawed film finally disappears into the 'time-space rift' (or whatever) to achieve some sort of cosmic transcendence.