L.I.E. review inside... -- The Gay and Silver Screen

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Date Posted: 23:12:15 06/22/02 Sat
Author: jfbiii
Subject:

L.I.E. review inside...
In reply to: jfbiii 's message, "L.I.E. (review is long, so I put in the first reply)" on 23:05:43 06/22/02 Sat

Not sure what I expected, but it wasn't what I got. It was on Sundance tonight as part of their salute to gay films for gay pride month. They've shown a lot of films with glbt themes/characters this month.

Didn't expect to have much sympathy for Big John, but I did for awhile, at least. I thought it was definitely a negative portrayal of someone who prefers minors rather than the positive I had been led to expect by the pre-movie hype a year or so ago. Watching the scene were he sends Scotty out I just couldn't figure out how he could know that he was hurting him and just do it anyway. Not to make an indictment of people who are romantically attracted to youth, I simply can't figure out how someone looks can overpower love. Alternately, how someone could have a long-term sexual relationship without love eventually overpowering looks. That's just foreign to me.

Howie was, I suppose, the most tragic figure. Losing a mom, figuring out what he really wanted romantically just to have it taken from him, then losing a father, and even what I can only characterize as the tragic unrequited romantic attachment to Big John who, though he could have theoretically provided much in the way of entertainment, sustenance, and education. But lets face it, Big John would love what Howie was whle never actually loving Howie himself. Same as what we saw with Scotty.

The kid banging his sister was just hilarious. Exactly the sort of dysfunctional straight character gays have every right to expect from Hollywood (or is it faux-Hollywood when it's an independent film?)

Gary: John's victim or not? I couldn't decide, there really wasn't enough information. He seemed like the sort of kid who, without any positive outlook on what being gay was about, could just have turned to a darker side of being gay. I know I behaved in what I would now characterize as "dark" because there was no positive to look forward to, not that I was aware of, anyway. Perhaps what's saddest about Gary in the film is that when Howie and sister-banger and the other gay kid (closeted jock who was interested in Howie but couldn't bring himself to say it) confronted Howie about being gay they really couldn't have cared less about it. There was only a confrontation because Howie got pissed at their insinuation and tried to hit one of them. So really, Gary probably could have just been out and pursued normal teen outlets for his sexuality with not as many problems as he may have thought. I'm reading a lot into that tiny piece of the film, I know. If I was 15, Iprobably would have been in love with him.

Hopefully Howie starts hanging with the closeted jock and one of them manages to grow a set of balls and risk a real relationship.

All in all, I was impressed with the film. It covered a lot of territory succintly and with sympathy and style. There was only one real plot contrivance that I caught (the cop finding him on the footbridge over the L.I.E.) and two minor ones (Big John at the police station and the school without explanation). Great character development and good acting.

A very entertaining piece of brain candy.

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