The acronym may stand for Long Island Expressway, but the title
L.I.E. obviously had a poetic resonance that inspired director Michael
Cuesta. Just about every major character in his film is living a lie,
either one they tell others or one they tell themselves. The movie
plays almost as a cross between Happiness and Kids, two of the more
disturbing films from the past decade.
The story starts with a
group of listless high-schoolers who cut class every day to break into
houses, not because they are poor or needy but because they are bored.
One boy boasts about having sex with his own preteen sister, and bets
the others $20 to see for themselves if they don't believe him. Some
combination of abusive social treatment from others their age,
confused sexuality, and parental indifference has left these kids with
no feelings for life, no sense of morality, and no real reason to
live. They do what they feel in the moment, without concern for how it
affects anyone else or what might happen to themselves in more than a
day's time. On top of this, what makes the film truly memorable
and intriguing is the introduction of the Brian Cox character, Big
John, an overt pedophile drawn to troubled young boys. Not your
typical movie villain, Big John is filled with contradictions. He
presents, and seems to truly have, an affable personality that elicits
many friends in the community. He dotes on his elderly mother and is
chummy with the local police force. If anyone were to take an even
perfunctory look into his life, they couldn't miss the evidence of
what he does, yet he inspires them not to look by his charisma and
genuine charm. He uses and, yes, abuses children, which is
reprehensible no matter how you look at it, but he also has a tender
side and actually cares for these boys he brings into his life.
Cuesta takes a very complicated moral stance with regard to Big
John. He leaves no question that John is wrong, possibly dangerous
beyond even the molestation, but he also presents him as sympathetic,
a man who isn't trying to harm children and believes that he can form
a symbiotic relationship with them. Brian Cox delivers a nuanced
performance, eminently creepy one moment and fatherly the next, never
veering into stereotype or swinging too wildly from one extreme to the
other. The boy at the center of the film, Howie, is equally complex.
He and John are both smart characters who can see through each other's
most convincing charades. They use each other, and in turn need each
other, no matter how wrong that may be. 
The movie is, needless
to say, often uncomfortable to watch. However, for all of its
controversial subject matter it does not really push the envelope the
way that either Kids or Happiness did, nor do I believe it was meant
to. This is not an explicit film; it does not shock the audience so
much as force them to explore a moral dilemma. There are moments of
black comedy (some played perhaps a little too broadly), but none
quite as devious as the Todd Solondz film, and there are few scenes as
bluntly in-your-face as the Larry Clark film. The movie stumbles a
little with its pat conclusion that steps too far in the direction of
casting heavy-handed judgment, but L.I.E. is still a challenging and
rewarding film that is worthy of attention for those with an open
mind.
New Yorker Video has released L.I.E. on DVD in two
separate editions, the "Original Uncut Version" or an R-
rated version, no doubt toned down to appease the major rental chains
who would prefer to carry a family-friendly movie about pedophiles. As
noted above, this is not a very explicit film, but I noticed at least
one scene likely to be trimmed. I can't imagine anyone interested in
seeing this movie who would want a censored version of it, so please
be aware that both editions exist and be sure to check the packaging
before purchase or rental.
Video: How Does The Disc
Look?
Letterboxed to 1.85:1 with anamorphic enhancement,
this is a very sharp picture with just a small amount of edge
enhancement to occasionally distract. The movie's striking photography
uses many bold, saturated colors that come across well on disc. Black
level is strong, and there is a solid sense of depth to the image.
Grain is rather minimal for such a low-budget production. I wouldn't
call it reference quality, but the color transfer is well rendered and
serves the film nicely. 
Audio: How Does The Disc
Sound?
The movie's sound design is not exactly elaborate,
but the DVD's Dolby 2.0 Surround mix gets the job done with reasonable
strength. The film is obviously dialogue-driven and has little to no
use of the surround channel. Directional effects tend to be limited to
traffic noises panning across the front soundstage. The location
recording of the dialogue is sometimes a little hard to discern but is
usually clear enough. The musical score and the songs chosen for the
soundtrack generally sound great. The audio track is perfectly
adequate even though it may not inspire anyone to crank up the volume
on their home theater.
No alternate language tracks, subtitles,
or closed captions have been provided.
Supplements: What
Goodies Are There?
The disc contains two audio
commentaries, one from director Michael Cuesta and another from
actor Brian Cox. Unfortunately, neither is terribly interesting.
Cuesta has surprisingly little to say about his very controversial
first film and he sounds bored to tears recording the track; his heart
is clearly not in it. I was hoping that Cox might provide some insight
into his character, but the solo commentary calls attention to the
fact that he's only in about half the scenes in the movie. His
character first appears on screen a good 10 minutes or more into the
film, and Cox doesn't talk about much during all of those other scenes
without him. Both tracks are filled with long, tedious gaps where
nothing is spoken. Perhaps if both participants had been recorded
together in one session where they could interact with one another,
some interesting discussion might have developed. As it is I couldn't
make it all the way through either commentary.
Three
deleted scenes are presented in non-anamorphic letterbox
without any chapter encoding to separate them. All are relatively
short and none were substantial enough to remain in the movie, though
we do get a look at one sad character who is mentioned but not shown
in the finished film. The theatrical trailer and several promos
for other releases from the same studio finish off the disc.
DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in
your PC?
No ROM extras have been included.
Parting Thoughts
L.I.E. Is a difficult film whose
subject matter will repulse as many people as would be interested in
seeing it. It is, however, a complex piece of art and I recommend it
to viewers who appreciate films that are thought-provoking rather than
merely entertaining. The DVD's supplements are pretty much worthless,
so the disc is all about the movie rather than the bonus features.
Just be sure to pick up the correct edition.
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