L.I.E. (2001)

[7]

Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood) and Brian Cox (Manhunter) star in this deeply unsettling coming-of-age drama about a motherless teen who robs houses with his friends until they entangle with an older man who’s a pillar of the community — and a pedophile. After his friends abandon him and his father is arrested on claims of fraud, the teen turns to this older man for help. Dano’s character isn’t naive — he knows full well what Cox’s character wants. But the older man genuinely warms to the boy and takes on a paternal, not sexual, role.

L.I.E. is not an easy movie to watch because the specter of sexual abuse looms over most of the film. As Dano becomes increasingly distraught, Cox is the only one to offer comfort and protection. To that effect, the movie is like watching a long, slow-motion car crash. But what we expect to happen never actually happens — at least, not to Dano’s character. And to its credit, the film doesn’t let Cox’s character get away with his crimes, either. Both actors give daring, compelling performances.

Beneath the ickiness, L.I.E. has a lot of subtext about male sexuality that I appreciated. The first third of the movie focuses more on Dano’s nascent same-sex puppy love with another boy played by Billy Kay. Sexual identity seems to be up in the air for one if not both of them, permitting the characters to have a sexual fluidity that is usually beaten out of young men well before their teenaged years. The film also deals with Dano’s father (Bruce Altman) bringing a young girlfriend into the home not long after his wife’s death, contrasting sexual fluidity with sexual indiscrimination. Male narcissism, same-sex jealousy, and romantic betrayal are also at play in the script.

Murky psycho-sexual dramas aren’t for everyone, but writer/director Michael Cuesta handles the material sensitively. Cox’s character is resolved a little more abruptly than I’d have liked — especially since it’s before Dano’s character can have any kind of catharsis about their relationship. As someone interested in the relationship between sex and violence, I found L.I.E. challenging — but ultimately more provocative than offensive.