Review of Lymelife (2008) by Andrew E — 01 May 2009

I was told that the film acted as a generic coming of age indie film, and I suppose that label is not entirely deceiving, but I do think that Lymelife is a good deal better than most films released in the genre. Sure it follows a few cliches, and I suppose I never was entirely thrown off until the end, but I think there are enough great things about the film to forgive any of the convention. The first is the acting. Both Culkin brothers are top notch, Rory had me hesitant at first but he really turned in a great performance, the real surprise was Kieran though, he played his role perfectly. Hutton is fantastic as Charlie too, he's got this connected disconnected feel about him and he turns in a hauntingly brilliant performance, likely competes with Culkin for my favorite supporting performance of the year, maybe Starr too but I'm not sure about that after watching Hutton. Baldwin, Hennessy, and Nixon are all solid to really good, but the stand out performance comes, as I had heard but was slightly hesitant to believe, from Emma Roberts. I think she has a very great character to work with, the personality already seems to be there and her dialogue is great, but her ability to bring the human element to the role is breathtaking. She hits all the right notes and she hits them flawlessly. She's sympathetic, alluring, comical, sarcastic, tough, vulnerable, and everything else the role asks for, it's really damn impressive. I know she was solid in Nancy Drew and she was always good on Unfabulous but she does something very special in Lymelife. The second big thing about the film is the soundtrack and how well it's used. Whenever you have Dylan playing as a kid is having his face pummeled in I'll probably be pretty happy, but the inclusion of "Shooting Star" and "Feel Like Making Love" are just a few other examples of enjoyable songs that are used wonderfully in the context of the film. Speaking of that Dylan scene I mentioned I think it works into the third thing I wanted to discuss, and likely the defining factor that elevates this above the level of a common indie coming of age tale. Much like Adventureland, the visual style here and the camera work is simply stunning. That scene where Kieran is beating the kid up is wonderfully shot, keeping us focused on the car window and having to watch everything through the reflection rather than cutting. Also, that opening scene with Scott sitting outside of the door as his parents argue is a nice way to start things off, showing that the film is not something from some average director. A few other stand outs are the check out scene, the Thanksgiving shot, the argument scene between the Bartletts, and the train passing by outside of the beaten up kid's house. The film, visually, is stunning. The film also has quite a number of really funny moments, mostly driven by Rory talking to himself in a mirror, occasionally with a Playboy or with Han Solo's rifle, always without a shirt on. Finally, there's that damn deer. The shots with the deer are beautiful and help bring about one Hell of an ending, the final shot is beautiful and the cut to the credits is perfectly placed to make for an incredible stopping point that, arguably, is left, at least slightly, open to interpretation. The more I write about the film the higher I think about it, and I really do recommend that everyone check it out, it may be my second favourite film of the year.

A/A+ or 4.78934805721047582139.