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Just perfect...

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

A 15-year-old boy, Howie, still mourning the death of his mother, hangs about with the wrong crowd at high school. Dad is too wrapped up in his crumbling business to take notice of his son's drift. School are over-worked and for them Howie will be one of many who slips through the safety net. As bad goes to worse, someone has to step into the void to be a crutch for Howie. This opens the door for Big John, a local made man and a predator on young boys. Like so many other kids, a lack of supervision exposes Howie to exploitation.That storyline never quite realises its potential in this bitty, at times infuriating story. Too many contradictions and narrative dead-ends present themselves. Howie's friend Gary is a very disturbed boy from the wrong side of the tracks. He envies Howie's middle class lifestyle, and Howie is too wrapped up in himself to see it. Except when push comes to shove, Howie finds it in himself to break into Gary's place and steal some guns. It makes for some nice visual inter-cutting (by virtue of the fact that Gary is simultaneously breaking into Howie's home), but in terms of character consistency makes no sense. Big John is a very sinister, very dangerous man, who preys on the young and vulnerable. And yet something about Howie ignites a noble streak in him, so that any sense of threat by Big John is quickly marked absent, and we are asked to believe that Howie's plight has brought out BJ's good side. Except that BJ is sick, and Howie is hardly credible as the cure.Howie is supposed to be confused and vulnerable, but quotes Walt Whitman in a confident and articulate style that belies his 15 years. At this point we see Paul Dano, trained actor, rather than the character he is playing.What was this film trying to say? That we are all shades of grey? Sh*t happens? Somewhere along the line, the thread of cause and effect got lost in this film. There are some nice moments - the Dad seeing his dead wife in every room - but none of it connects and the whole thing just does not hold together. Although the action being played out is believable, the psychology behind it is not, and any connection to other events and relationships in the film is tenuous. Something, many things, just seem missing here.

I have recently found this title, one of my favourite films now, as we go into the 2010 Edinburgh International Film Festival, this was a winner in 2003, I hope the new film by Dagur Kari, the director of Noi Albinoi, and the actors Paul Dano and Brian Cox will be as good. This film L.I.E, the best film I have seen since Just Another Love Story, and before that Let the Right one in. a definite must see, and if you like this one then try Mysterious Skin very similar but very different film. L.I.E a killer performance by Paul Dano, with this film you can see a brilliant actor who fits the role and accompanied by Brian Cox, the two of them bouncing off each other giving a real glow to the film, creating many memorable scenes.

This movie was very well done but also quite disturbing. I don't know who wrote that this is a look "typical suburban life" but nothing could be further from the truth. This is the story of an alienated young boy who becomes the prey of the local pedophile. It realistically portrays both characters well, including the self-hate inherent in the pedophile's role as well as some of the emotional needs he fills for the alienated mother-less and essentially father-less boy. It is obviously disturbing by its very nature (unless watching a 15 year old boy getting blackmailed into having sex with a 60 year old man isn't disturbing to you) but very well done. The child actors are superb as is the actor playing the pedophile Big John. Its a thought-provoking but jarring look at an under-represented subject.

Considering the number of awards that this movie was nominated for and received at film festivals around the world, and the comments about how the director was admirable in choosing to present a difficult subject, I looked forward to seeing L.I.E.As much as I wanted to like this movie, I didn't. The movie seems to feel that mature teenagers are able to make choices regarding their sexual experiences and I had no problems with that. The problem with this movie for me, is that the characters weren't well developed and their relationship with each other wasn't developed either. Unlike those who made other comments, I didn't like the character of "Big John". I agree that the director was courageous in tackling so controversial a topic. I only wish the result was a better movie.