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L.I.E. (Unrated)

Paul Dano (Actor), Brian Cox (Actor), Michael Cuesta (Director) Rated:
Unrated
Format: DVD
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 501 ratings
IMDb7.1/10.0
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DVD
June 4, 2002
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June 4, 2002 		—
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L.I.E. $2.89 $7.69
Format Multiple Formats, Color, NTSC, Widescreen, Anamorphic
Contributor Billy Kay, Walter Masterson, Bruce Altman, Paul Dano, Michael Cuesta, James Costa, Brian Cox
Language English
Runtime 1 hour and 37 minutes
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Product Description

Product description

A remarkable movie. "L.I.E." centers on Howie, a 15-year-old boy whose mother recently died in a car accident. Neglected by his father, an unscrupulous contractor who's constantly having sex with his new girlfriend, Howie falls in with a group of boys who break into houses for kicks. After one break-in Howie is caught by Big John (Brian Cox, the original Hannibal Lecter from "Manhunter"), a former Marine with a taste for young boys. But the relationship that develops between Howie and Big John surprises them both. "L.I.E." captures male adolescence more genuinely than any other film in recent memory; the realism of the relationships, particularly between Howie and his father, is completely compelling. The movie affects all the senses; you can practically feel the texture of Howie's blue flannel sheets, smell the greenery that grows along the Long Island Expressway. Amazing performances, vivid direction, smartly written--superb all around. "--Bret Fetzer"

Amazon.com

A remarkable movie. L.I.E. centers on Howie, a 15-year-old boy whose mother recently died in a car accident. Neglected by his father, an unscrupulous contractor who's constantly having sex with his new girlfriend, Howie falls in with a group of boys who break into houses for kicks. After one break-in Howie is caught by Big John (Brian Cox, the original Hannibal Lecter from Manhunter), a former Marine with a taste for young boys. But the relationship that develops between Howie and Big John surprises them both. L.I.E. captures male adolescence more genuinely than any other film in recent memory; the realism of the relationships, particularly between Howie and his father, is completely compelling. The movie affects all the senses; you can practically feel the texture of Howie's blue flannel sheets, smell the greenery that grows along the Long Island Expressway. Amazing performances, vivid direction, smartly written--superb all around. --Bret Fetzer

Product details

  • Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.85:1
  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ Unrated (Not Rated)
  • Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches; 3.2 ounces
  • Director ‏ : ‎ Michael Cuesta
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Multiple Formats, Color, Widescreen, NTSC, Anamorphic
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 37 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ June 4, 2002
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Paul Dano, Brian Cox, Bruce Altman, Billy Kay, James Costa
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ New Yorker Video
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B000063K0V
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 501 ratings

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
501 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

DAN
5.0 out of 5 stars Sticks in your heart
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2023
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This oldie recently popped up on my list, so I watched it last night. Woke up today still feeling it.

The main story is about a teenage boy (Howie) desperately seeking solid footing in his life while his world fell apart. He tried - fairly unsuccessfully - to use a tough kid façade to protect himself from bullies at school and a too-busy and sometimes physically abusive dad at home (after having lost his mother in a traffic accident). Two black eyes into the story, things definitely weren't moving in the right direction.

A sloppy home burglary got him in the orbit of a simultaneously threatening and empathetic 'older' man (Big John) who talks 'with' instead of 'at' Howie. Whatever Big John's original motivations (given he's a pedophile), he is able to draw out the sensitive and intelligent beautiful boy that Howie hides inside. Of all the people in Howie's life, this is the person to whom he opens up. When he does so - like when reciting poetry - it's as if he's longing to show his true self, and Big John is speechless (I got a frog in my throat, too).

Much has been written about how Brian Cox's portrayal of Big John is what carries the film. Indeed it is wonderful. But to me, it is Paul Dana's portrayal of Howie that stands out - especially being his first outing in a major film. There was no time when one feels like Howie is being acted by an actor. Instead, what one 'gets' is Howie's tough kid act and the crushingly heartbreaking sensitivity it's trying to conceal. (Although, when he's calling someone else's bs, he's brutally on target.) When Howie recited from Walt Whitman, I completely lost it. As I did when he found out what was really going on with his dad.

The storyline has some choppiness. How did the kid we see come to his deep artistic knowledge and appreciation? How does a student show up at school with a black eye two separate times and all heck isn't raised at school? How does someone like Big Joe have such great rapport with law enforcement? (BTW, who was Big John's live-in boy?)

Beyond everything else and with due respect to everyone else, the movie was Paul Dano's.
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I. Evans
5.0 out of 5 stars Not a "Gay Film"
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2006
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The gross misnomer "Gay Film" has been applied to this masterful work too many times. It is a brilliantly acted, and well-written coming-of-age story (in intriguing genre, for the film is hardly cliché) of a 15-year-old boy named Howie Blitzer (expertly played by Paul Dano). While it is the acting of the relatively young Dano that shines in this film, Brian Cox is also fabulous - both tender and frightening - often in the same scene, promulgated by Michael Cuesta's direction. Additionally, the editing choices of this film were also quite good.

The viewer learns in the first five minutes that Howie's mother has recently died and he is still a bit messed up over the whole affair. He also has fallen into a group of somewhat stereotypical juvenile delinquents who cut school and hang out at the back of a pizza place (and inside the place at one point) debating whether its "clitoris" or "clintosaurus," "Dr. Bones McCoy" or "Dr. Phones McCoy" from Star Trek.

It is a motley bunch for sure, including a guy who "f--ks his sister," the corrections officer's son who wishes he had a sister, the punk of ambiguous sexuality named Gary (played by Billy Kay) who gets passed around the Long Island teen sex circuit like the plague, an Howie, the kid who doesn't know if he's gay, straight, or what. They get their kicks out of breaking into houses. But after one successful break-in between Howie and Gary, in which two expensive pistols are stolen Howie is nearly apprehended his entire life changes.

It seems that Gary knew the man who owned the house that he and Howie broke into (a man named "Big John" played by the indomitable Brian Cox), and when the Big John confronted Gary, Gary told him that it was Howie who took the pistols. Thus Big John sets off to recover his property. Howie retrieves one pistol from Gary's house, but that isn't enough for Big John who tries to seduce Howie. All of this is going on as Howie's father, who has been having non-stop sex with his new girlfriend, is under incitement for a fire in a building in which he had contracted the construction. Howie's father makes a desperate attempt to reach out to his son, as he sees him struggling in school, but is soon arrested.

What follows is a story of love and lust, confused and mistaken sexual identity, revenge, and of course - growing up. Howie's relationship with Big John deepens from one of Big John's lust to Howie's view of Big John as a patriarch in his life, to Howie's lust for someone to love him like his mother did. Though not by any means a heterosexual film, this is not really a "gay film" either. It's not really about pedophiles either, its really just a story of a boy coming to terms with how his life has changed and who he has Become. This is a story with true heart.

Caveat: Definitely go for the unrated version, it was originally (an inappropriately) initially rated NC-17, for mildly obvious reasons, there's no real nudity or sexual activity between minor and minors (or minor and adults, for that matter) and the language is no worse than that of other R-rated films like "The Matrix."
7 people found this helpful
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Jonah Price
3.0 out of 5 stars A Movie…
Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2023
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Yea the Movie was Ehh the Acting was Ehh but the Amazon process 10/10 Lol
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Top reviews from other countries

Peaches
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on October 21, 2018
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Great
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A. Evans
5.0 out of 5 stars poignant, touching film
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 7, 2005
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This must strike a chord with any gay man who remembers what it was like growing up in a hostile world, or indeed anyone who lacked the love of a father. Very touching film and tastefully portrayed for a sensitive subject. The character played by Cox is not demonised as one might expect from a cliched movie, but shows both sides of a human being. We can empathise with the older man despite his obvious failings. The film is well-scripted and the actor playing the boy is superb. It shouldn't be rated restricted - a 15 rating would do but the world is hardly ready for a debate on the topics raised in this very thought-provoking film.
12 people found this helpful
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JOSEPH OLIVER
5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth a night in
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 22, 2011
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The description may be a bit deceptive. There is really nothing in this film that would offend - no drink, drugs or sexual activity (one tiny piece perhaps which shows the top of a woman's head - but nothing more). It would appear to be the topic that gives it such a rating yet the topic is treated very well, soberly and - if you believe in someone's character being black or white - confusingly. The film encompasses the lives of many other characters apart from the son and the interaction between their behaviour and effects on the teenager are very well portrayed. I found the time just flew by. Glad I bought it.
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D. M. Evans
4.0 out of 5 stars Realistic and engaging; excellent treatment.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 15, 2012
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I found this film to be very engaging in its truthful treatment of topics we seem to find difficult to handle in the West at the moment. Its not just about the sexual activities of teenage lads - it's a story about social dysfunction, casual crime, incest and the awful sterility and soullessness of modern American suburban life. The only older characters really to play a major role are Howie's Father and Brian Cox; this adds to the film's impact. Mr Cox plays the role of an older man whose sexual preference is for teenage guys. Please note - NOT a Paedophile, as he isn't into children. By avoiding such cheap and inaccurate stereotyping, the director and scriptwriter enable Mr Cox to show us a believable, sympathetic character rather than some 'tabloid monster preying on our kids.' They are not kids; they know what they are doing, freely choose to do it and mostly enjoy it. This makes the film all the more powerful. Compares very well Larry Clark's 'Ken Park and is, in my view, superior to it.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars great film
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 15, 2021
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storyline shows just how easy it is for young people to fall into bad ways
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