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The title of this movie "L.I.E." stands for two things I
think. First, the initials stand for Long Island Expressway
where the film takes place. The second is the central theme of all
the lies which most of the characters live as well as to suggest the
sinister things that go on in what you think is your normal
neighborhood.
The provocative story centers around a 15 year old boy who is trying to
come to terms with his life after his mother is killed and his father
takes up with a younger woman right away. To make matters worse,
he's struggling with his sexual identity and finds a mentor with a 60ish
man, who also just happens to be a pedophile.
This is a hard movie to describe but it's pretty engrossing and I liked
it. The result is an audacious film that is controversial with a
subject matter that some viewers will instinctively shun, and with a
take on it that some may judge abhorrent; but it's so brilliantly
constructed and masterfully executed that it's an example of what is so
good in American independent cinema. In some ways, it reminded me of the
movie ("Kids")... but this one is much better because you
sympathize with the main kid and it has a much more compelling story to
tell. Also, somehow the older actor makes his character
likeable... even though he is a pedophile and rides around the streets
looking for boys. This guy is disgusted with his own sickness but can't
do anything about it.
This is a daring and imaginative film, so unlike the usual assembly-line
products that come out of Hollywood. I guess this movie
deserves the NC-17 rating it got just because of the pedophile angle and
some graphic sex talk. But I'm pretty sure I've seen more graphic
stuff in some R-rated films
-- Mike
( 3 out of 4 pops )
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