L.I.E. of
the land, © The
Boston Phoenix
by
Peg Aloi
The irony about
L.I.E., Michael Cuesta’s frank depiction of, well, pedophilia,
is that, because of its NC-17 rating, the very kids it concerns
won’t be able to get in to see it — at least not legally. Co-writer
Steve Ryder, a gruff but erudite ex-cop ( " Wanna see my scars?
" ), decries what he calls " homophobia, pure and simple — the shallow
prejudice of a bunch of bored housewives in Orange County. These
people remind me of Joseph McCarthy, who was a reprehensible drunk.
Blacks and Jews and Communists and gays have already been demonized
in this country, and the next group to represent pure evil is pedophiles.
"
Brian Cox, whose
terrifying performance as Big John will no doubt be compared to
Dylan Baker’s similar portrayal in Todd Solondz’s Happiness,
says, " You can have Mark Wahlberg attached to a dead prosthetic
in Boogie Nights, or you can have the young girl with the
older guy in American Beauty, and that is somehow acceptable.
So this is clearly part of a hysterical witch hunt, a de facto rejection
of homosexuality by a group of mindless, middle-aged morons. "
Does Cox think
the lack of explicit sex is somehow more damning to this picture’s
reception?
" Absolutely.
It’s because there is no explicit sex that they’ve given it this
NC-17 rating. Because for the people censoring it — and it is
censorship — less is more. They are afraid of what they imagine
to be happening. It’s an American disease. It is mind-boggling that
some singer [Elvis] fucks a 14-year-old girl and he gets his head
on a stamp, but when it comes to boys, it’s a taboo subject. "
Cox uses a culinary
analogy to explain the film’s balance. " This film had a little
too much red meat at first, I felt, " he says, digging into a heap
of French fries, to the amusement of Cuesta. " Originally we had
Big John giving Howie a blow job. "
In the final
version, two of the film’s most memorable scenes are less graphic
exchanges between Big John and 15-year-old Howie, including one
where Howie kisses Big John’s hands only to be gently rebuffed.
" That’s a magical scene, " proclaims Billy Kay, who plays pansexual
bad boy Gary. The other scene is where Big John shaves Howie’s peach-fuzzed
chin. I point out that some have found this threatening.
Kay laughs.
" Whaaat?? That’s crazy! " Cox shakes his head and says, " I have
no idea what would make someone think that, " then nods toward actor
Paul Franklin Dano, whose quiet manner belies the power of his screen
debut. " Tell you what, though — this young man has a lot of courage.
" When asked how he coped with such a demanding role, Dano is humble:
" I really just tried to do what Michael asked for in each scene.
"
And how does
Cox respond to questions about Big John’s sympathetic qualities?
" It all comes down to the individual watching. They all bring their
prejudices to it. This character is a human being; he has a dark
side, which is not acceptable and not accepted, and I don’t think
we shy away from that. We see him using very, very explicit language,
but then we see him performing acts of altruism. " Cuesta adds,
" This guy’s got a mom. He makes breakfast for Howie and enjoys
it! I think it is refreshing to see that this guy is just a guy.
"