L.I.E.

The title refers to the Long Island Expressway, where the mother of the young protagonist (Paul Franklin Dano) died in an accident two years ago. Now the boy’s father (Bruce Altman) ignores him in favor of his own legal problems and new girlfriend; the only real family the boy has is his equally aimless pals who join him in burglarizing the neighbors—one of whom (Brian Cox) is a pervert preying on teenage boys. Director Michael Cuesta avoids sensationalizing the story (though it still got an NC-17 rating), so there’s not the smuttiness of, say, Larry Clark, but there’s not the energy either. Cuesta (and co-writers Stephen M. Ryder and Gerald Cuesta) fails to give the film shape and conviction; it’s sluggish, lurching and unevenly paced, with some crucial improbabilities in the script.