Lymelife

[hdaniel82]

As the renowned Ticket Fairy also waved her magic wand for me, has anyone any idea, please, how likely it is that I would be asked for my (non-existent) Timesplus card at the Apollo Piccadilly? For the last Timesplus screening I borrowed a card but that was for Crawley and anyway, I won't have one this time.

Unlikely. We weren't asked at Empire Leicester Square, in fact they barely looked at the Toy Story 3 printouts.

[superhero]

I famously went to the Apollo to "see" I AM LOVE and ended up seeing Whip It by mistake... (I AM LOVE was meant to be in Cineworld haymarket)

[Beate]

That's what I call lucky.

[superhero]

I think the ticket checking generally depends on how popular the film is and how big the venue is. I don't think there's going to be too many die-hard lymelife fans....

[a_person]

Yeh... It looks boring.

[Preston1990]

I saw this at a sparsely populated small screening room at the Metrocentre, with my OH this morning. It was nice to bump into fellow FMUKer Andrews and have time for a bit of a chat.

The cinema weren’t planning on running the screening until 11:00, having been misinformed in the email to them, until Andrews had a quiet word. To give them their dues, once the mistake had been realised the Odeon staff were very professional. They even sent a spokesperson to address everyone to apologise for keeping us waiting outside the Cinema and also for the ultimately slightly delayed film start. So a “good recovery” from them and all credit to them for that.

As to the film – I thought it was quite different to anything I’d seen recently, and that made for quite a nice refreshing change The film is a coming of age drama, which also explores the effects of infidelity on families.

In the main it is quite a dark and painful film, which covers some uncomfortable issues, but it also has some lighter comic moments.

The film centres on the lives of two married American couples and their offspring. In particular the developing relationship between two of the children is examined.

Geeky, uncool and a mothersboy to boot, Scott (Rory Culkin) is having a tough time. He is being bullied at school and Adrianna (Emma Roberts) his neighbour who he fancies tremendously, only thinks of him in a brotherly kind of a way. And.... she is seeing someone else.

Judging by my OH’s reaction to the film, it’s not to everyone’s taste but I thought the complex characters were excellently portrayed with fantastic performances from Culkin (R) and Roberts. Some great supporting performances too from the parents and Scott’s sibling Jim (Keiran Culkin).

I’m going to give this one 8.5 out of 10 and I will be very interested to hear what others thought.

[Beate]

The folks on imdb are mostly raving about this one, but it wasn't my cup of tea. Thought it was boring and pointless and none of the characters really likeable.

Lovely cinema though, and just the right temperature inside. Also walked straight in without anyone even bothering to check my ticket, let alone any timesplus card.
6/10

[andrews]

"Lymelife" is a story about the dark side of suburban paradise and the loss of innocence. It centers on two deeply troubled, dysfunctional families during the late 1970s. The film revolves around an awkward, sensitive 15-year old boy, Scott Bartlett, whose family life is turned upside-down after an outbreak of Lyme disease hits the community spreading illness and paranoia. Scott's parents -- a workaholic father, Mickey and an overprotective mother, Brenda -- are on the verge of a divorce as his older brother Jim is about to ship off for war. Scott also has a longtime crush on his next door neighbor, Adrianna Bragg, who seems to be the only person in the world to understand him. Adrianna has an equally troubled, less affluent family including an uptight mother, Melissa, carrying on a not-so-clandestine love affair, and a father, Charlie, slowly slipping away from the effects of Lyme disease. Both profoundly funny and deeply moving, "Lymelife" looks at first love and families in transition during a time of drastic economic and cultural change.

This synopsis totally sums up the film. However, 'profoundly funny' it is not. It is a brave, clever film, and deals with very sensitive issues in an unsensitive way - the problems are in your face - 'deeply moving' doesn't do it justice - I found it harrowing at times. However, I am suffering from sleep deprivation and perhaps my judgement is more subjective than usual.

In the main it is quite a dark and painful film, which covers some uncomfortable issues, but it also has some lighter comic moments.

I thought the complex characters were excellently portrayed with fantastic performances from Culkin (R) and Roberts. Some great supporting performances too from the parents and Scott’s sibling Jim (Keiran Culkin).

I’m going to give this one 8.5 out of 10 and I will be very interested to hear what others thought.

Quite right, Preston, when you say dark and painful, but the lighter comic moments were too far and few between, and less memorable than the real unfolding - and - undoing of the two families.
I agree that there were some terrific performances - though as I said to you I did not find any of the characters at all likeable - Timothy Hutton was particularly good as the husband with mental illness. Great casting.

However, I did not enjoy the film. I don't like films which make me feel so uncomfortable - so it's getting 5/10 from me.

[elski]

More Culkins! how many are there?

I thought the film was ok, dragged a bit in the middle and built to an interesting and tense ending. I just couldn't connect to any of the characters or care about them.

6/10

[Beate]

More Culkins! how many are there?

6/10

He has five more brothers! There was a sister too but she died in an accident.