Too repulsive to sit through....iiiis the point. Well done. It does require you to open your mind a little, though; to try and see Big John in the context of a human being. It's hard to watch. But it's worth it.

Wow. This was one hell of a movie. So incredibly touching and moving. And it hit the nail right on the head for coming-of-age films. Brian Cox was great, but Paul Franklin Dano out did him. That did was great. The direction was unbelievable. The visuals were great. Even better screenplay. I rented the R-rated version because I was a bit nervous about the subject matter, and it wasn't anything worth freaking out about, yeah it was a bit disurbing at times. The only scene that was removed from the R-rated cut was the dad and girlfriend sex scene. This movie was ....over by the MPAA. It's one great movie, even teens can and should watch this move. One of 2001's 6 best films. … Expand

Slices through all of man's and life's emotions.

Jeff V and Khanh N are just fucking stupid. There is nothing in this film that is worth freaking out about, content-wise. It's unbelievable. Powerful and great.

This is a flat-out great film. Khanh N and Jeff V are f.... insane and should NEVER be allowed to review anything, whether it's a film, a book, or a bar of soap. This is a great film. Why this film got an NC-17 rating is crazy, any film w/ a pedophile gets an NC-17 rating for some bizarre reason. Great acting and it's emotionally powerful. Go out and rent this movie, there's no guy on guy or old guy on young guy action so don't be nervous.… Expand

A pair of compelling characters amongst plenty of not-compelling characters amongst an even less compelling story. In making this movie "real" and "restrained," Mr. Director forgot to make it "interesting" and "effective." I'm more affected by the acclaim this movie received than the movie itself.

Some movies should not be made! Making a child molester a protagonist is just repulsive to sit through.

I saw this movie on a whim one night. I left disturbed. It was a good movie. While I would agree that placing a child-molester in the role of protagonist is unusual, I nonetheless felt somewhat sympathetic for him. However, I was even more sympathetic for those he took advantage of who were spurred to such drastic measures at the end.

Big John wouldn't seem as sympathetic if we actually saw him sodomize Howie. In Todd Solondz's "Happiness", Dylan Baker's victim stares at a toilet of blood discharge, as a result of anal sex. In "L.I.E.", there's an embrace but nothing more. Big John has scruples. Sleeping with the kid is delayed because Howie is emotionally vulnerable, as a result of his father's arrest. Big John is a monster, but a gentleman. Brian Cox is so charismatic, we can't help liking him; even when Howie stumbles upon semi-nude photos of his current lover, taken when he was just a boy. Cox is stellar. There's a brief scene where he admits his shame, and we believe him. Director Michael Cuesta is likewise. He takes chances. The way he handles Howie's ignorance of his father's whereabouts, breaks free from the rigid structures of convential screenwriting. First we think, the movie has hit a lag, but then we realize, this is how life would really play out. Paul Frank Dano is very effective as Howie. "L.I.E." is a disturbing movie, but disturbing in ways you didn't count on. … Expand

Not perfect -- but it's so well-acted (brian cox & paul dano, obviously, but billy kay and bruce altman too) and the story really goes there: how males (boys & men) go to sex to get through the scary emotional squishiness of vulnerability. the film is eeky creepy freaky, sure, but that's the point... oh, btw, i don't think BigJohn's a gentleman: i think he's a bit stunned by Howie's intelligence & willingness to go along...and backs off cuz Howie's clearly not his preferred kind of victim... this film has a real respect for a possibly gay kid figuring out things in a sexually-screwed-up world... really powerful film...… Expand

There is NO WAY this movie deserved an NC-17 rating (or even an R rating for that matter), just because a movie is about gay teenagers the MPAA doesn't want people to see it. But anywho, this movie was brilliant. Paul Franklin Dano doles out one of the best debut performances in memory like nothing and Brian Cox probably deserved an Oscar nomination. However, I'm sure part of the reason I absolutely loved this movie so much was because I could identify with Dano's character in many, many ways. But still, even if you can't or don't identify with a character in the movie, SEE IT ANYWAY! I loved it, you will too, f... what the critics say. A+… Expand

Worst film of the year.