Skip to main content
Background
Welcome to GamesRADAR+ Community !
Hi ,

Your membership journey starts here.

Keep exploring and earning more as a member.

MY ACCOUNT

Badge picture
Earn your first badge
Read 1 article to unlock your first badge.
Keep earning badges
Explore ways to get more involved as a member.
Latest Games News

Latest Games News

Breaking gaming news and updates

Read Now
Latest Games Reviews

Latest Games Reviews

Expert verdicts on the newest releases

Read Now

See what you’ve unlocked.

Explore your membership benefits.

Explore
Member Exclusives

Stay Ahead with GamesRadar+

Get the biggest gaming news, reviews, and releases straight to your inbox.

Explore

Sign Out
  • TotalFilm
  • Edge
  • Newsarama
  • Retrogamer
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Best Netflix Shows
  1. Entertainment
  2. TV
  3. Documentaries

L.I.E. review

Reviews
By Total Film published 29 November 2002

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

Funnily enough, you don't get many films that deal with the topic of teenage boys as sexual fodder for middle-aged men. Who'd be bold - - or foolish - - enough to handle such a hot potato? Surprisingly, not Larry Clark or Todd Solondz, but commercials director Michael Cuesta, whose feature debut offers a coming-of-age tale with an ultra-provocative slant.

Fifteen-year-old Howie Blitzer (Paul Franklin Dano) is a mixed-up juvenile delinquent who's grieving for his mother, neglected by his bimbo-shagging father (Bruce Altman) and confused by his feelings for best friend Gary (Billy Kay). He's easy prey, then, for ex-Marine and pederast Big John (Brian Cox). Only it's not that black-and-white, and this strange relationship follows a far from clear-cut course. Sure, Howie's first visit to Big John's home is so glaciers-down-the-spine creepy you may be on the edge of your seat ready to leave. But as the tone of sexual menace subsides and Cox starts to seem as much a surrogate parent as a slimy perv, the character shading becomes increasingly subtle.

Of course, a huge amount rests on Cox's shoulders, and he uncorks his best work in years, unleashing the talent he's been saving while slumming it on the likes of Mad About Mambo and Complicity. But the kids, too, are excellent (especially star-in-the-making Kay), and kudos must also go to Cuesta for both his avoidance of knee-jerk morality and his determination to find a fresh angle on the done-to-death suburban angst movie. Shame about the cop-out ending, though.

Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Total Film

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine. 

Latest in Documentaries
A still from the volcano documentary Fire of Love
Movies The 32 greatest documentaries ever made
 
 
A Goofy Movie
Documentaries On its 30th anniversary, A Goofy Movie is getting a Disney Plus documentary charting its "untold story" and why it still remains a "beloved classic" in 2025
 
 
The Wolf of Wall Street
Movies The 32 greatest Leonardo DiCaprio movies
 
 
Grand Theft Hamlet
Documentaries Video game theater reaches the next level in Grand Theft Hamlet, a GTA Online Shakespeare production where even the director can be killed
 
 
Hammer Films - The Heroes, Legends And Monsters
Documentaries Late Star Wars actor Peter Cushing being brought back by AI for new documentary
 
 
The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee
Documentaries The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee review: "A revealing exploration of a big screen icon"
 
 
Latest in Reviews
Fox in the Forest box on a wooden table
Tabletop Gaming Fox in the Forest review
 
 
Charlie Cox as Daredevil in Daredevil: Born Again season 2
Marvel TV Shows Daredevil: Born Again S2 review: "Still struggling to bloom in the shadow of the Netflix show"
 
 
The design of the YoloLiv YoloCam S3
Peripherals This webcam promises DSLR image quality, and it isn't too far off
 
 
Crimson Desert
RPGs Crimson Desert review: "A game that's far better as a sandbox than as a story"
 
 
Alien RPG Evolved Edition Core Rules on a wooden surface
Tabletop Gaming Alien: The Roleplaying Game Evolved Edition review
 
 
The reviewer holding the CRKD Gibson Les Paul Pro Edition Guitar
Gaming Controllers The CRKD Pro Edition Guitar controller is almost perfect, and lets you rock out to all of the classics along with the most recent hits
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina in Thunderbolts
    1
    Daredevil: Born Again season 2 connects Valentina and Kingpin, with possible ramifications for the Thunderbolts
  2. 2
    Who is Mr. Charles in Daredevil: Born Again season 2?
  3. 3
    Daredevil: Born Again S2 review: "Still struggling to bloom in the shadow of the Netflix show"
  4. 4
    Where are the Defenders in Daredevil: Born Again season 2?
  5. 5
    EverQuest is the next MMO to get the "classic" treatment after WoW Classic and Old School RuneScape, but there's a twist

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...