Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #40599 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-04-28
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 95 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
L.I.E. features quietly electrifying performances from newcomer Paul Franklin Dano and criminally underrated veteran Brian Cox (best known on the big screen as the original Hannibal Lecter in Manhunter), as a neglected teenager and his paedophile acquaintance respectively.

Fifteen-year-old Howie derives no support from the inept parenting of his widower father and instead seeks solace and companionship firstly with a group of delinquent burglar friends and subsequently with the former marine Big John, whose complex makeup--part father-figure, part Fagin, part Svengali, part abuser--leads Howie into an ambivalent relationship in which there are no easy answers or straightforward notions of right and wrong. The premise of the movie is thrown into sharp relief by the cosy New Jersey setting, all neatly-manicured lawns and cool interiors. Indeed, the most striking images in the film are the burglary scenes, in which Howie's furtive, awkward presence in the sterile blandness of his victims' uncluttered homes forms a double-edged metaphor for both the security and the anodyne mediocrity of the society from which he feels so alienated. --Roger Thomas

Special Features
Anamorphic Wide Screen
DVD 5
English
Region 0
Dolby Digital English
Dolby Digital
Star And Director Filmographies
Scene Selection
Ali Catterall Film Notes
Deleted Scene
Audio Commentary From Director Michael Cuesta And Actor Brian Cox
Original Theatrical Trailer

Synopsis
The Long Island Expressway, the highway that traverses suburban Long Island with its "lanes moving east, lanes moving west, and lanes that go straight to hell" serves as the central metaphor in this disturbing meditation on coming of age and teenage vulnerability. Howie Blitzer (Brian Cox) is a sensitive fifteen-year-old who runs with a rough crowd. The recent death of his mother (in a car accident on exit 52 of the L.I.E.) and his father's indifference to it, have left him floating in a world bubbling over with sex, violence, and danger. When his best friend Gary convinces Howie to burglarize the house of their neighbor, 60-year-old Big John, the tenuous balance of their teenage existence is entirely thrown off. To make matters even worse, Howie's father is arrested over a bad business deal. Howie is left dangling, and only Big John seems to care. A harrowing mixture of tenderness and perversion electrifies the father-son relationship that forms between Howie and Big John. Director Michael Cuesta's touching vision of domestic life in modern-day suburbia is at once humorous and unnerving as it boldly charts one boy's convoluded path through adolescence.

Customer Reviews

The Lanes Going Straight To Hell
Originally I was drawn to the DVD by its title, 'L.I.E.' While director Michael Cuesta uses the Long Island Expressway as a metaphor, 'L.I.E.' also symbolises the way in which everyday people hide the truth from those closest to them, and the lies we deceive ourselves with. Without beating the viewer over the head with morality, Cuesta aims his cameras unflinchingly at the characters, never shying away from truth or brutal reality.

Howie is a sensitive fifteen year old, prone to poetry and schoolboy crushes, like the one he has on his friend Gary, a morally bankrupt male prostitute. Because of his unrequited feelings, Howie is drawn into a life of petty crime, anything to be near Gary. When a particular burglary turns sour and Howie is eventually tracked down by the homes owner; a pedophile played with excellent depth by Brian Cox, the film begins its downward spiral into emotional territory rarely experienced on film. With brilliant clarity, Michael Cuesta has filmed one of the most richly told tales I've ever had the pleasure to view.

Not for the squeamish, if sexuality is a trigger for you, 'L.I.E.' is brutally honest filmmaking at its best. Highly recommended...

poignant, touching film
This must strike a chord with any gay man who remembers what it was like growing up in a hostile world, or indeed anyone who lacked the love of a father. Very touching film and tastefully portrayed for a sensitive subject. The character played by Cox is not demonised as one might expect from a cliched movie, but shows both sides of a human being. We can empathise with the older man despite his obvious failings. The film is well-scripted and the actor playing the boy is superb. It shouldn't be rated restricted - a 15 rating would do but the world is hardly ready for a debate on the topics raised in this very thought-provoking film.

Interesting idea, but could have been much more
The Amazon synopsis is fairly comprehensive, and no more need be said about the plot of this film. As to its quality, `L.I.E.' has two main strengths: first, the acting, and second, the portrayal of `Big John'. Regarding the former, the talent of the actors is faultless. Brian Cox (Big John) gives a highly sensitive and credible performance as the pseudo-father figure to Howie. Paul Franklin Dano (Howie) is due particular praise (since it was his debut feature film) for giving life to the character of Howie. And Billy Kay (Gary) is not only stunning and breathtakingly sensual, but has an incredible magnetism and presence.

As to the second strength, it is very refreshing to actually see a man whose sexual inclinations include pederasty being portrayed as a complex character - with his sexual life being just one part of what comprises his personality - as opposed to the stereotypical bogeyman which filmmakers apparently feel obliged to portray.

However, beyond these positive aspects, there is little of value to be gained from watching this film. Whilst I certainly enjoyed it, and may - perhaps - watch it a second time, it lacks sufficient emotional depth. What depth there was existed primarily between the two teenagers, Howie and Gary, and that evaporates when, disappointingly, Gary exits less than halfway into the film. Where is the intensity? What is there to draw the viewer in and burrow itself into their psyche? Whilst the film is to be commended for it's portrayal of Big John, there is definitely nothing `provocative' or `haunting' about it - descriptions that are robotically bandied about, given its subject matter. Indeed, there is absolutely nothing to warrant the 18 certificate that the censors thought fit to proscribe - no nudity, violence or sex. In fact, excepting the small amount of swearing, the film barely warrants a 15 rating. For a significantly darker and more poignant film on a similar theme, viewers would be advised to check out Araki's fantastic `Mysterious Skin', which demonstrates what could have been achieved with `L.I.E.', but wasn't.

Overall, this film can certainly be recommended for an evening's enjoyable entertainment provided by highly talented actors - just don't expect anything particularly disturbing, emotive or dark from L.I.E.