Lymelife (2008)

58% of critics liked it
(98 reviews)
51% of users liked it
(18,115 ratings)

A family unit begins to bow under the pressure of a failing marriage.

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 34 min.
Directed By: Derick Martini
Written By: Derick Martini, Steven Martini
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Sep 8, 2008 Wide
On DVD: Sep 22, 2009
Studio: Screen Media Films

Critic Reviews

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
Another film that looks back at late seventies' suburbia with a mixture of tenderness and condescension.
Greg Quill, Toronto Star
Even in its darkest moments there are flashes of warm comedy and gentle farce that lend the story considerable credibility and charm.
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Overall the film feels like The Ice Storm or American Beauty on training wheels, but Martini's next efforts could be well worth watching.
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
The players dazzle, but co-writer-director Martini has attrracted this cast with chewy roles and a sharp metaphor, a disease that tears down the veneer of normality.
Tom Long, Detroit News
The dysfunctional suburban family drama has become so ubiquitous that the genre has lost all impact.
Cary Darling, Dallas Morning News
Solid performances combine with a sense of warm naturalism to make for engaging, memorable drama.
Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures
The film was meant to be a tear-jerker, but the only tears I encountered were the ones that I was bored to.
Jason Best, Movie Talk
Like The Ice Storm, Martini's story climaxes with a devastating event, but whereas the earlier film's denouement had the force of tragedy, Lymelife's ending appears overly contrived.
Angie Errigo, Empire Magazine
Boasting an outstanding ensemble cast, this small-budget indie is an at-times poignant tale of family life.
Derek Malcolm, This is London
There's nothing remotely original about Derick Martini's saga of American suburban life in the late Seventies. It has all been done before - but Martini's first feature is so sharply written and well acted that it appears fresh as a daisy.
Trevor Johnston, Radio Times
Derick Martini's first feature may inhabit similar territory to The Ice Storm and American Beauty, but it's not overshadowed by them.
Steve Ramos, Boxoffice Magazine
While they may not claim the marquee power of Baldwin or Nixon, Culkin and Roberts bring Lymelife its best performances and help boost the film above the ranks of the ordinary, dysfunctional family tale.
Brian Orndorf, Dark Horizons
An attractive indie film package, but a desperately routine one that shock value cannot salvage.
Jason O'Bryan, Boston Phoenix
Derick Martini's quirky, frustrating directorial debut seems to believe that a dystopian view of suburbia will suffice for a film, without the need of an engine to drive the story (or really any story at all).
David Gritten, Daily Telegraph
It's not terrible, but many of the metaphors employed by writers Derick and Steven Martini are crashingly obvious.
Mark Jenkins, NPR.org
For all its emphasis on suburbia and its discontents, Lymelife never quite convinces that its story's environs are essential -- or even all that interesting.
Anton Bitel, Film4
Given its concern with suburban rites of passage, Lymelife is the quintessential indie film, but it offsets its overfamiliar derivativeness with filmmaking craft and excellent performances.
Allan Hunter, Daily Express
Lymelife is tenderly observed and generally well-played with Timothy Hutton bringing a weary stoicism to one of his best roles in a long while.
Alistair Harkness, Scotsman
Debut director Derek Martini displays confidence, coaxing performances from his cast that keep the potentially overheated story in check.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
Derivative it may be, but this is a well-directed, well-rounded drama.

Read all 23 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Cynthia S

I really thought that this movie was excellent! Maybe partly because I was a teenager in the 70s, but mostly because it was very well done. Those two Culkin boys really are very good actors. I was rather amazed at how much I liked them. Very good drama!
♥˩ƳИИ &

CAST: Rory Culkin, Kieran Culkin, Jill Hennessy, Alec Baldwin, Emma Roberts, Timothy Hutton, Cythia Nixon DIRECTED BY: Derik Martini SUMMARY: Set in 1970s suburbia, this coming-of-age tale revolves around the exploits of a pair of Long Island families grappling with complex… More
CAST: Rory Culkin, Kieran Culkin, Jill Hennessy, Alec Baldwin, Emma Roberts, Timothy Hutton, Cythia Nixon DIRECTED BY: Derik Martini SUMMARY: Set in 1970s suburbia, this coming-of-age tale revolves around the exploits of a pair of Long Island families grappling with complex relationships, financial woes and an outbreak of Lyme disease that's "terrorizing" their community. MY THOUGHTS: "I really liked this movie. The cast was really fantastic, acting was great. The Culkin boys, Alec Baldwin, and Timothy Hutton really stand out for me in this movie. All of the others were a great supporting cast. These two dysfunctional families end up clashing with each other in infidelity. It really gets real when Rory Culkin's character locks himself in the restroom whilst his parents are having it out. Anyone who has went through similar things in their family will really be able to connect to his character more in that moment then in any other. Theres also a part where Brenda asked her son Scott "Why you even worrying yourself with my problems with your father?" It's like parents don't understand that their worry and pain become their childrens worry and pain. The title is 'LymeLife' and the synopsis says the town in 'terrorized' by the disease, but it really has very little to do with the film. Well besides one person having the disease and a over-protective mother freaking out about it. Besides that, its mostly centered on these two families trying to deal with where their life is at this moment. It's a really good story. It's a movie some will be able to relate too. Whether it be with the teen angst, or the parental problems. All in all a great cast, great script, good acting, and some humor. I highly recommed this movie."
Curtis L

Another "real life" movie that shows how much life sucks. Really the only thing in it worthwhile is Timothy Hutton. P.S. does Alec Baldwin ever play "not" an asshole?
Lorenzo v

"The American Dream Sucks" A family unit begins to bow under the pressure of a failing marriage. <center>REVIEW</center> My favorite… More
"The American Dream Sucks" A family unit begins to bow under the pressure of a failing marriage. <center>REVIEW</center> My favorite part of this movie was a scene where Alec Baldwin and his wife who is played by Jill Hennessey finally tear each other to shreds with their fifteen year old son, hiding in his little bathroom, hearing the whole thing. Remarkably it is so realistic that I found myself choked up but also laughing. I've heard the same kind of parental blow outs in my childhood and they are so painful but Martini, a novice writer-director, magically weaves agony and humor into this painfully honest sequence. And there are other sequences as well that walk the same tight rope: a sex scene where two of the characters lose their virginity, a scene where Timothy Hutton seeks revenge on Alec Baldwin in a bar, a scene where Emma Roberts confronts Rory Culkin about a certain lie he's told about her, another scene where Timothy Hutton shows his wife who is played by Cynthia Nixon exactly how he feels about her - with no words mind you. I am a huge fan of PT Anderson and, if we're lucky, we'll see more commercial films from Anderson and Martini. There's a similar style here that's difficult to put into words. Characters, situations, camera style, the bravest kind of acting you have seen since Martin Scorsese. Oh, wait, Martin Scorsese produced this film and it is no shock. If anyone knows talent it is Scorsese. After Lymelife, the torch is officially passed to Anderson and Martini. Please, give us more.
Bannan i

Two Culkins...in one movie? And the story looks a little intriguing, to say the least. Typical scenarios played out in an atypical fashion with a cast that is fiercely brilliant. Emma and Rory were pretty amazing in here. [review TBC]
Walter M

In "Lymelife," Scott Bartlett(Rory Culkin) is a fifteen year old high school student living on Long Island. His father(Alec Baldwin) is a property developer with a lot riding on his latest deal. Despite this, Scott's mother(Jill Hennessy) would rather be living in… More
In "Lymelife," Scott Bartlett(Rory Culkin) is a fifteen year old high school student living on Long Island. His father(Alec Baldwin) is a property developer with a lot riding on his latest deal. Despite this, Scott's mother(Jill Hennessy) would rather be living in Queens. Considering his bully problems, he probably concurs, but luckily for him, his older brother Jim(Kieran Culkin) is home on leave from the army. Scott's best friend Adrianna(Emma Roberts) has problems of her own, in the person of her father(Timothy Hutton) who is suffering from Lyme's disease and cannot get a job. While "Lymelife" is certainly well-acted(it looks like Emma Roberts might just be the real deal), there is very little story to go on. And any number of attempts to explore any number of themes miss the mark but not by much, especially how suburban developments encroach on the habitats of animals.(I am reminded of seeing deer at a bus stop when visiting my brother near Denver recently.) The exact time this is set is kind of fuzzy(somewhere between 1979 and 1982), due to its conflicting set of cultural references. This could have been successfully linked to a character not remembering all of the details of his past but there is not a strong enough point of view to support this. And I live less than a mile from the Long Island Rail Road but I am sure there are some places on the island where you cannot hear the trains go by.
Jackson W

Despite the original plot's presentation as something worth watching, it was extremely disappointing. The acting was too one-dimensional, like watching real-life scenarios. Plus, Emma Roberts is not the best 'bad girl'.
Nicolas K

Can be easily dismissed as "seen it before" as it covers similar territory to American Beauty or The Ice Storm. But this ordinary, dysfunctional American suburban family tale is so sharply written and well acted that it appears as good as new. Alec Baldwin is a better actor… More
Can be easily dismissed as "seen it before" as it covers similar territory to American Beauty or The Ice Storm. But this ordinary, dysfunctional American suburban family tale is so sharply written and well acted that it appears as good as new. Alec Baldwin is a better actor than I have given him credit for in the past and Rory Culkin could easily be true gem of the 7 siblings.
Sarah B

Do yourself a favor and skip this film and just sit down and watch the amazing Ang Lee's The Ice Storm.
Kyle S

Well-crafted coming of age film. Comparable to "The Wackness" and "Adventureland." Emma Roberts is gorgeous too. =D
Laurence C

The answer to the question on your mind right now : yes, Lymelife is very much the middling Suburban Angst Film its poster and trailer would have you believe, and little else. Its depiction of a two seemingly quietly troubled families nestled in a quietly troubled 70s middle-class… More
The answer to the question on your mind right now : yes, Lymelife is very much the middling Suburban Angst Film its poster and trailer would have you believe, and little else. Its depiction of a two seemingly quietly troubled families nestled in a quietly troubled 70s middle-class existence has all the trappings of a Sundance-pressed indie, and not in a fairly positive way. Besides a knack for stately but glum atmospheres and typically subtle work from Baldwin and Hutton, the only revelation here is Rory Culkin as a needy and hormonally charged teenager whose only relief from all that repressed emotion comes in painful, short-lived explosions. Nope, I am not willing to give the Martini brothers' debut film a hearty recommendation solely because it is centered around a softly devastating performance, backed by solid work from everyone else in front of the camera. There are so many familiar productions of the genre one can take before wondering if that particular hollowness has lost its impact when presented onscreen, after all. I did not expect to particularly 'enjoy' a film that covers territory this bleak, but I did wish to feel something during the occasional shades of levity and tenderness that were supposed to have an impact beneath all the alienation. Lymelife, unfortunately, kept me at arm's length for most of its running time, and that comes with a cost : a final stamp that, as usual, signals not outright failure but mediocrity.
Jason R

An oddly paced dramedy about the fact that no family despite its outward appearances is without it's troubles. The movie stars the brothers Culkin (Rory and Kieran) as two brothers one a young High School kid, the other a recently enlisted Marine who has come back home for the… More
An oddly paced dramedy about the fact that no family despite its outward appearances is without it's troubles. The movie stars the brothers Culkin (Rory and Kieran) as two brothers one a young High School kid, the other a recently enlisted Marine who has come back home for the holidays. Their parents played by Alec Baldwin and Jill Hennessy are fighting more than ever, and the younger brother soon realizes just how bad thier marriage really is. Despite a really great cast, the movie falls short of being something worth talking about as it creeps ever so slowly towards the climax you are pretty much begging for the thing to end. A little more time in the edit room or in the production meetings may have gotten this movie a lot more buzz and made it better but watching these great actors work is worth the rental fee alone. Timothy Hutton give a really great performance, and so does Jill Hennessy. This type of film isn't everyone's cup of tea, but if you enjoy watching some fine acting then I recommend giving this a look.
Sarah P

It had its moments, but I don't think I would watch it again. They really under-utilized Alec Baldwin and I couldn't help but feel like Macauly Culkin should have made an appearance to join the rest of his family. Dissappointing overall...
Sunil J

I really enjoyed this indie dramedy about two families. Every performance was great. However, the Ice Storm is a favorite movie of mine and there is more than a little influence in the plot of this movie. Even so, it's worth the watch.
Wu C

Great indie flick. Reminded me of 'The Ice Storm' a little. Awesome performances by the whole cast.
Lovable M

Good film, but overall it felt pretty flat and dull.