L.I.E. - a story of a 15 year old boy who gets into the wrong company

{FILM DIARY}

L.I.E. (2001, USA)

Seen: Monday, 28th December 2009 (VHS, repeat viewing)
Runtime: 97′
Director: Michael Cuesta
Cast: Paul Dano, Billy Kay, Brian Cox
Production House: Alter Ego Entertainment, Belladonna Productions
Plot: Howie is 15 and is going wild. Breaking into houses becomes one of Howie’s pastimes. One day, Howie ends up robbing the house of a man, who happens to have a thing for teenage boys…

Trailer

Impressions In Short
I remember being fairly impressed with this upon first viewing, though I think it’s mainly because of the unusual way the relationship between Howie and the older man plays out. Otherwise I don’t think it has that much going for it. It’s ok - that’s about it.

More About the Film
The main thing that interests me about this movie is Big John, the paedophile. Showing a character who is into sex with underage boys and yet does not use force is very unusual. Although Big John does some very morally questionable things, he has some scruples also. There is a bit of manipulation and trickery in what he does, but for the most part his lovers have a choice (and I’ll add that all of them are in their teens, at an age when they can make a relatively informed choice). Whether he will get into Howie’s pants or not is sort of the suspense of the movie.
I have doubts about how taboo the relationship between Howie and Big John really is (the trailer suggests the film is very daring). Howie is 15, going on 16. In some countries he’d be past the age of consent or just entering it.
Other than that I think this film is just your average independent movie. I thought the ending was dreadful though.

Recommended?
Not really… Though you can watch it for the relationship between Big John and Howie - it is nicely written.

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