L.I.E. (DVD Review)  A-
By Kage Alan

Howie Blitzer doesn’t have the greatest existence at the moment. His mother is dead, his father is screwing another woman with reckless abandon and is also the subject of an F.B.I. investigation, his friends get him to break into houses with them and he’s questioning his awakening sexuality. Things become even more complicated when Gary, who Howie has a crush on, gets him to break into the basement of house owned by somebody named Big John so he (Gary) can steal something. You see, Big John is a pedophile and doesn’t appreciate having things stolen from him and when Gary heads off to California, Howie is left behind to deal with John and the rest the dilemmas that present themselves. His father is arrested and when he is left behind, John finds himself in the unusual position of becoming a surrogate father of sorts to Howie and fighting his own impulses to seduce the young man.

“L.I.E.”, fortunately, does not make the mistake of glorifying pedophiles or making a judgment call one way or the other for us. We are left to make our own decision as to whether Big John, though what he does is clearly unacceptable, is redeemed or redeemable. Does a fine line such as what the character walks here really exist in life or is it truly a one-way-or-the-other morality call? Can we despise the act, yet feel sympathy for the person who clearly feels ashamed of what he does? The film raises these questions and I don’t find that I have an easy time answering them. Perhaps that’s best.