The movie L.I.E. is as intriguing as the wordplay of its title. It tells the story of a smart but troubled-queer boy, Howie, whose haunted by his past ordeal and his current patriarchal situation, plus his confused desires that sometimes led him to detrimental activities.
I enjoyed the film but it's not groundbreaking. But it's a gem for exploring intriguing and untapped themes in LGBTQ cinema. This film reminds me of Jet Boy (2001), Il Sapore del Grano (1986) and For A Lost Soldier (1992) but it is far better executed. They all audaciously interpreted and unapologetically showcased taboos in the earnest form of low-budget cinema.
L.I.E. tries not to throw punches of metaphor but rather letting it open, telling a transparent and truthful tale of teenage angsts, grief, confusion and mayhem brought by freer boys.
The gem of this film is Paul Dano's acting debut, making his character's charisma shine for being smart, poetic, different, charismatic, observant and cunning.
The film does not domineer to point finger on what's good and bad. It simply exposes the tragic and poetic tale of the drifting boy down to rabbit hole, anchored by his mother's untimely death and his current father's uneventful parenting.
L.I.E. fails to forge heavy drama despite its potential material which landed to rather hilarious and vexing scenes, especially how shambolically stupid the way his father's raid was enacted, leaving their house like nothing happened (this scene is so hilarious), without even checking for leftovers like, you know, the welfare of his SON!? Leaving you felt morosely cringed to the lousy script and FBI's appalling incompetence.
As for the ending, when Howie said "But I'm not going to let it get me", shows his hopeful take on his seemingly bleak life. This force of death, and cycle, and stream, and cars and destinations; all personifying the Long Island Expressway. But just like how anyone can easily die there, not for him. He'll keep his eyes on the road, mark his direction, and go along on his journey.
I enjoyed the film but it's not groundbreaking. But it's a gem for exploring intriguing and untapped themes in LGBTQ cinema. This film reminds me of Jet Boy (2001), Il Sapore del Grano (1986) and For A Lost Soldier (1992) but it is far better executed. They all audaciously interpreted and unapologetically showcased taboos in the earnest form of low-budget cinema.
L.I.E. tries not to throw punches of metaphor but rather letting it open, telling a transparent and truthful tale of teenage angsts, grief, confusion and mayhem brought by freer boys.
The gem of this film is Paul Dano's acting debut, making his character's charisma shine for being smart, poetic, different, charismatic, observant and cunning.
The film does not domineer to point finger on what's good and bad. It simply exposes the tragic and poetic tale of the drifting boy down to rabbit hole, anchored by his mother's untimely death and his current father's uneventful parenting.
L.I.E. fails to forge heavy drama despite its potential material which landed to rather hilarious and vexing scenes, especially how shambolically stupid the way his father's raid was enacted, leaving their house like nothing happened (this scene is so hilarious), without even checking for leftovers like, you know, the welfare of his SON!? Leaving you felt morosely cringed to the lousy script and FBI's appalling incompetence.
As for the ending, when Howie said "But I'm not going to let it get me", shows his hopeful take on his seemingly bleak life. This force of death, and cycle, and stream, and cars and destinations; all personifying the Long Island Expressway. But just like how anyone can easily die there, not for him. He'll keep his eyes on the road, mark his direction, and go along on his journey.