Long Island Reflects

Long Island Expressway (LIE)," is a 2001 film directed by Michael Cuesta and stars film notable Brian Cox, most well known for being the first to portray Hannibal Lecter in "Manhunter." Also in the film is Paul Franklin Dano playing Howie Blitzer, the central character who deals with being gay, a bad time of losing a mother to the LIE, a father who pays little attention to his son and is corrupt in the likes of Ken Lay of Enron fame.\nThe central story line is that of a boy coming of age who must quickly learn to cope with the real world he is exposed to in the situations presented above. The film is funny, but also sad and tragic as it examines the lives you know exist but don't know if you've ever seen them in the making or happening.\nOne of the sub-plots revolves around Howie not having a masculine influence that nurtures him, and so he strangely turns to a neighborhood member named "Big" John Harrigan, who is a former marine and "Diplomatic Attaché." Harrigan has an interest in Howie, as Harrigan is a fan of having sex with adolescent boys. But Harrigan seems to develop an honest, father-son type relationship with Howie over the course of the film.\nThis sub-plot is crucial as it not only shows Howie developing the skill to hack through life on his own without his almost useless and sometimes abusive father. The abusiveness ties into the idea that domestic violence knows no boundaries. It occurs in the happiest looking and saddest looking households. It can be a wife beating a husband or a husband beating a wife. It can be a parent beating a child or a child beating a parent. \nThrough the use of this sub-plot, director Cuesta forces us to look at several levels of the complex and seemingly unhealthy relationship Howie has with Harrigan. Harrigan is both the predator and the protector. He is the manipulator and the manipulated. On the surface we see an obvious sleazeball who knows his behavior is shameful. But we also see someone who is capable of warmth and love and who inspires Howie to rise above his so far young, but troubled life. \nOver time, Howie becomes more comfortable with his homosexuality. And he gets over what I would call a bout of depression, indicated by his occasional climb onto the overpass of a section of LIE.\nIn an age where pedophilia seems to be forefront in news cycles and people's minds, this film takes a look at something socially unacceptable and shows us another possibility of the relationships pedophiles may form. \nWhile this film is Hollywood-like in the sense that the story line is a bit far fetched, it certainly is valuable in its ability to shove the norms of society with respect to taboo subjects in the faces of that same society and make us think.\nAnd thinking is something that few films make us do anymore. \nThat isn't to say though that the film is a brilliant piece of work. It isn't. I would dare say it's mediocre in its writing, acting (the father is about as simple and caricature as it gets), and in some cases its ending. At the end, we see Howie doesn't kill himself. But we really don't know what he does after that. Where does he go? Who does he go live with? All these are questions that should have been answered.\nHowever, the show is worth the price you pay at Blockbuster.