L.I.E. Long Island Expressway

This story rings true because it's something that happens in the real world all the time, whether people want to admit it or not. The film captures events and emotions that are complex, challenging, and confusing.

Howie, a young, intelligent, good-looking boy attracts attention from the same sex and isn't sure how he feels about it. He meets "Big John", and finds himself fascinated and impressed by the man's life, flattered and a bit scared at the attention he shows, and also somewhat repulsed by the man's attraction for young boys.

John, for his part, begins the relationship from a position he's quite familiar with: using his power as a worldly and canny adult to manipulate someone else. He feels physically attracted to Howie, but as they spend more time together, he sees the depth of the boy's character and a sensitivity similar to his own. Howie brings out the good side in John (and some people may be shocked that the film shows how a pedophile can have a "good side", but this is reality and it is well depicted).

Howie's feelings are excellently illustrated as they run a wide spectrum: confused, repulsed, lonely, defiant, confident, aroused, at times even suicidal. I empathized with and admired the character, and found myself rooting strongly for him to rise above the tragic and frustrating circumstances in which he found himself. In the end I felt a sense of triumph as we saw that, despite his unfortunate situation and his own flaws and weaknesses, he does possess the strength and character to face the world and become his own person.

I've practically lived this film so I know what it portray's isn't exploitive or audacious in the negative sense. It's a simple story of a kid growing up in the suburbs. The meaninglessness and frustration of this way of life I felt was painted nicely by the cinematographer and the director. The omnipotent lukewarm attempts by the high school and social structure were represented in a fair manner. It's a story of a teenager dealing with many things straight on. This movie is really an interesting look into modern western life as seen by a young kid. The movie draw's you in like all good film-making should. The acting is great. The story will hold your attention and be engaging to you regardless of your childhood. The only stumbling blocks will be your own pretenses or cynicism. It's not a complex story on the surface but everything that isn't spelled out is where the weight of the film resides.

As a sexuality educator I was impressed by the straightforward, nonjudgmental nature of a rather difficult topic. I vacillated between giving this film an 8 or a 9 and decided on 9 because we need more films like this. This topic requires understanding, not acceptance mind you, but real honest understanding. The very fact that it was given an nc-17 rating is part of the problem with our society. There was about as much sex as I've seen in R or even PG-13 movies, the rating was obviously ONLY because of the uncomfortable subject matter. How can society solve a problem that it clearly does not even want to talk about, let alone understand?

Fifteen-year-old Paul Franklin Dano (as Howard "Howie" Blitzer) lives in a cool suburban house, in a nice community near New York's "L.I.E." (Long Island Expressway). He's recently lost his mother to an Expressway crash, and doesn't seem to be dealing with the loss well. Neither is distant father Bruce Altman (as Marty), in trouble with the law for white-collar crimes. Young Mr. Dano is attracted to sexy Billy Kay (as Gary Terrio), but Mr. Kay is reluctant to start a relationship with his inexperienced pal.

Instead, Dano joins Kay in house burglaries, with incestuous James Costa (as Kevin Cole) and hetero stud Tony Michael Donnelly (as Brian). One of the homes they hit belongs to boy-trolling ex-Marine Brian Cox (as "Big John" Harrigan). Apparently, Mr. Cox is having trouble maintaining interest in aging boy-toy Walter Masterson (as Scotty). After Kay books for California alone, and Dano's father is arrested, he finds not only the sexual stimulation missing from Kay, but also a father figure, with the older Cox.

Due to the subject matter, this was obviously a controversial film. It contains what they call "strong language," but nothing offensive is explicitly shown. It's a tribute to director Michael Cuesta that such a fuss seems to have been made - at one point, the film was labeled NC-17 - because, Mr. Cuesta tells the story with implicit effectiveness. Editing and cross-cutting are used well. Cuesta and his cast deservedly won awards for their work. Still, nobody's perfect, and only an idiot would visibly trick behind that sign.

"Welcome to Long Island" Dano begins the "L.I.E." story by saying, "You got the lanes going east, you got the lanes going west. You also got the lanes going straight to hell." The ending, with Mr. Masterson, is an old story, but unexpectedly uplifting in this context (only).

******** L.I.E. (1/20/01) Michael Cuesta ~ Paul Dano, Brian Cox, Billy Kay, Walter Masterson

It's shocking that this film was ever made. You don't often get characters this well written in American independent cinema, and you certainly don't get characters who are pedophiles portrayed with this much thought behind them. Todd Solondz's Happiness can only be partially counted, as that pedophilic character was played half as comedy (very daring in its way, as well). Brian Cox gives the performance of a lifetime with this character - you won't entirely understand how perfect he is or how perfectly written he is until you see it. Any expectation you can come up with will be quashed when you see the film.

But, aside from that, this film is about young Howie, also played brilliantly by newcomer Paul Franklin Dano. This is one of the best films about the status of high school students today. No, not all kids are like this, but these characters represent an important segment in the school population. This could have easily been one of those my-dad-is-too-busy-to-pay-attention-to-me-so-I'm-going-to-act-out movies, and, indeed, it is in a way, but the characters and situations are so well written - and the film's technique is amazing, as well - that they're entirely believable.

I praise the hell out of Michael Cuesta for making this film. He's an absolute daredevil. Almost every piece of the film is like a highwire act, and he only stumbles at the very end. It's just too abrupt and simplistic, as if some producer thought that these characters shouldn't be able to live their lives. I hope Cuesta will make more films in the future. He's one of the best to pop up in the last few years.