L.I.E.
2002
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 .. Read more
| Starring | Paul Franklin Dano, Bruce Altman, Billy Kay, James Costa |
|---|---|
| Director | Michael Cuesta |
| Genres | Drama, Gay/Lesbian |
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L.I.E.
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.
| Starring | Paul Franklin Dano, Bruce Altman, Billy Kay, James Costa, Brian Cox, Marcia DeBonis, Tony Donnelly, Walter Masterson |
|---|---|
| Director | Michael Cuesta |
| Studio | PALISADES TARTAN |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 35 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama, Gay/Lesbian |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 28 Apr 2003 Production year: 2002 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (6)
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"...It sees both of its characters without turning them into caricatures....Brian Cox has been a superb actor in more than 50 movies..."
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"...Haunting....This remarkable film honors the complexities of an explosive situation, and that's an audacious achievement..."
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Most helpful member's review
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13 out of 13 people found this review helpful
Not Your Normal Rendering of a Teenage Boy.
If you like Todd Solondz films – you’ll love this gem. It’s a neat take on the struggles of being a teenager, but it very much subverts all the normal conventions regarding such an attempt. What you have here is a film about a boy coming to term with the death of his mother, and more importantly - what he is (yes, the film is a pure existential exercise, oh perhaps not really). All the actors give splendid performances, and even though the directing is not as original as it might think it is, it definitely delivers (and more). But what stuck with me, after watching the film, was not the portrayal of the male teenage protagonist, but Brian Cox’s absolutely astonishing rendering of a extremely ambiguous old man, who, in the eye of the viewer, goes through a remarkable transformation. Also, the film – in all its weirdness and tragedy - is very funny, which doesn’t hurt either.
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Most recent members' review
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
Truly Excellent!
This movie came on Sky at about 2 in the morning while I was doing the ironing--I thought hmmm...a movie named after the Long Island Expressway--it has to be interesting. And it is very, very interesting. The themes are borderline paedophelia and homosexuality--however, don't be alarmed--there is nothing graphic or outrageously weird--just an intense psychological study of an abandoned young boy and his relationship with an older man. Brian Cox gives the performance of his life--I was glued to the screen whenever he was on--he is a very fine actor indeed. I highly recommend this film--you will remember it long after you have seen it--extremely thought provoking.
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