L.I.E. (Unrated)
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Movie Reviews of L.I.E. (Unrated)
Movie Review: A controversial, disturbing, wonderfully brilliant film!
Summary: 5 Stars
Too many people require a big round of applause for this marvelous film. Michael Cuesta's first feature length film is extremely controversial, and at some times disturbing. Yet it is remarkably well written, well directed, and well acted. Howie(a stunning performance by newbie actor Paul Franklin Dano) is a 15 year old boy growing up in Long Island. His mother was killed on the L.I.E(long island expressway), his estranged father hardly knows him, he only has 1 friend who is planning on leaving for california. So needless to say Howie has nothing. This movie is a coming of age story where howie befriends a pederast named Big John(brilliantlly portrayed by veteran actor Brian Cox, the original Hannibal Lector) who ends up becomming a father figure to Howie. There are homosexual references in the movie, but this is not a movie about homosexuality. There are references to pedophillia in the movie, but this is not a movie about pedophillia. It is a story about a boy who finds that important something in his life that is missing. This movie is controversial because one of the main characters is a pedophile; yet when you see what importance he has on Howies' life you begin to feel sympathetic for the man. Regardless of this, there are no inapropriate sex scenes, over the top violence, or extreme vulgar language that you find in most movies today. Yet this was unfortunetly given an NC-17 rating, stopping many people from viewing this terrific film.
Keep an open mind when watching this film and take it for what it is, an extremely down to earth, emotional coming of age story. I honestly cannot give enough praise to director Michael Cuesta and actors Paul Franklin Dano and Brian Cox. Independent or not, this has to be one of the best films of 2001 - A must see for any movie fan!
Movie Review: Grossly underrated, tragically beautfiful
Summary: 5 Stars
Not many people know about this jaw-dropping film, most likely due to its controversial content regarding pedophilia and parental negligence. Having first seen "LIE" on DVD when I was sixteen, I was both jarred and captivated by what unfolded before my eyes. Director Michael Cuesta effortlessly portrays the "American Dream" gone wrong, and leaves us with no easy answers as to how and why such things happen.
Howie Blitzer is an wealthy Jewish boy living in Long Island, hanging out with kids who aren't nearly as smart or as well-off as he is. Ever since the death of his mother, Howie seems to have gone adrift; his father is too busy taking part in money laundering scandals or having sex with his (much younger) new girlfriend to care what his son is up to.
Needless to say, things go downhill from there.
While robbing a series of houses, Howie is subsequently blackmailed by a man named "Big John", a war vet who has *several* underage boys around -- including Howie's friend Gary, who earns money by prostituting himself on the L.I.E. (Long Island Expressway). What starts off as blackmail turns into genuine concern and companionship as the film progresses, until Howie's world falls apart, the only man left in his life is a pedophile who knows what he's doing is wrong, but simply can't stop.
This film isn't for the faint of heart, and makes no excuses for its content or views. The cast (particularly Paul Dano and Brian Cox) give stunning performances. Cox in particular disturbed me several times throughout the film for appearing so real. The ending is what it should be -- unresolved -- because in today's world there are countless kids like Howie, who go unseen by a world that easily forgets just how dangerous being young can be.
Movie Review: Too real
Summary: 5 Stars
I must say, this movie sent me back in time and really touched me. Like Howie, I was also courted by a pedophile when I was in my mid-teens. And like Howie, I was never touched. I don't know if anybody who has never had an encounter with a "gentle" pedophile could ever understand the beauty and sadness of this movie. It moved me, it made me nod and remember fondly the old man in Apt 42 who always knew what to say to the teenagers to get them to come inside. Many of my friends did have sex with him, but I never did, because he chose to nurture me as a person during the bitter divorce of my parents. I don't know what I should say or feel about what he was doing to others, and I don't know if I stand fair enough to judge him by those deeds, but to me he was a savior. He made no attempt to hide the fact that he desired sex with me, but he knew that I was frail and needy, and to take advantage of me would be to ruin the innocence I had that had attracted him to me in the first place. He went to prison, so I heard, several years after I moved away from the apartment complex we lived in, and I had almost forgotten him in the last 20 years, but this movie brought his memory to surface. It is altogether haunting, and beautiful, and very realistic. Many of the conversations and situations that occur between Howie and John were seemingly verbatim of my experiences with my "gentle" pedophile friend. Very outstanding, morally challenging film that I would recommend to anyone who is able to get over their initial shock over the word pedophile.Movie Review: Incredible movie.....
Summary: 5 Stars
I am very seldom moved to post my personal opinons about movies online, but in this case I am compelled. While other reviewers raved about Brian Cox (and his performance was, indeed, flawless), I was personally blown off the sofa by the depth, balance and range of the portrayal of Howie by Paul Franklin Dano. In concert with the spot-on perfect dialogue (employing exceptionally realisitc and creative NY idiom and accent) created by the writers, it was a performance that instantly pulled me in, kept my unflagging attention and support throughout, and left me desperately hoping the movie wouldn't end. And as a native of New York suburbia, I can fully vouch for the reality of the vast majority of the situations and interactions of Howie's friends, played beautifully and believably by an excellent young supporting cast. Most notable was Billy Kay as the tortured and lost character, Gary.
When a movie captures you as this one did me and leaves you thinking about it for the rest of the night and then STILL thinking about it when you wake up the next morning (enough so that you feel you have to jump online and express your views on it), it's a keeper. The subject matter is sensitive to some, but it's treatment throughout is such that you objectively see every view, every angle, every nuance, and can therefore make a well-informed decision for yourself.
This one is absolutely not to be missed.
Movie Review: A quietly devastating film
Summary: 5 Stars
It's no wonder that this movie has had mounds of awards and critical praise heaped upon it. It's truly remarkable and lingers with you long after the viewing. I'll not recap the plot as that can be found in Amazon.com's review, but in all earnestness, to take such disquieting subject matter and craft it into a touching and thought-provoking movie is the work of no small talent indeed. Cuestra deserves all the accolades he receives for this alone. The performances turned in by Brian Cox, Paul Franklin Dano and Billy Kay are truly devastating in their sincerity, especially those of Cox and Dano. I can scarcely contain the respect I have for people who are so truly gifted as to deliver such compelling and believable performances. One of my favorite lines from a review of this movie summed up the humanity of the pedarest Big John best by saying something to the effect that the victim was choosing to be ensnared, but the predator chose not to strike. Truly, this is not a "sick man" to be easily encapsulated and defined, and summarily dismissed -- he is just a man who lives with his unfortunate sickness, much as do alcoholics, drug addicts or pathological adulterers. This is certainly not a "date" movie, nor is one for the closed of mind or prudish of spirit, but for the open and engaged mind, you'll find few movies as haunting and effective as "L.I.E."