reviews, hype, (casting)

I guess Lymelife does what it sets out to do, but even with a lot of good performances, it is lacking some depth, something more, so that we do not just follow a few people's boring everyday lives far away from everything.

"After so many Ice Storms and American Beautys what further insights could the present offering hope to add?" - Andrew Schenker

Walking over well-trod ground, Derick Martini resolves to rework familiar tropes into the stuff of resonant cinema, shunning idealism and sensationalism to become truly poignant, and thus worth more than the lacklustre likes of American Beauty and Snow Angels -- two superficially similar works lacking Lymelife's soulful vision. Featuring sensational Emma Roberts' finest work, Martini's film is a dark indie dramedy with something crucial but rare: credibility!

While I'm not sure if I needed to see yet another American independent drama about broken families, Martini's film brings a mix of quirkiness and gravitas and true-ringingness which adds something new to the genre. Moving but not heart-rending, amusing but not laugh-out-loud, this film is content to settle for being mildly interesting and a little different. The acting is quite good and probably the main reason to watch. It's a low-key film but at least it feels true to itself and its aims.

A vastly compelling human drama. Some slight problems in editing, but the absolutely superb acting more than makes up for it.

This indie film starts off rather wrote, but hits its stride halfway through. While its characters fail to address anything particularly revelatory, they are curious and occasionally witty. Typical Baldwin, amusing but uninspired; however, the relationship between Rory Culkin and Roberts is humorously sincere. The lofty symbolism of the deers, suburbia, and Lyme disease express an uneasiness with the banality of suburban life, but seems to be reaching for something beyond the depth of this film.

Complicated without being boring, Lymelife is a fun movie that examines the pains and pleasures of growing up in the seventies. Alec Baldwin and Tim Hutton are at their best. The Culkin brothers are convincing and impressive as brothers. One of those movies that makes you feel like 'you were there.'

Good Movie

Solid, well written coming-of-age movie. There's certain confidence, optimistic view in the film, that can be felt by someone who lived through the hard times, and in the end could make a greater sense out of all experiences. Realistic, sometimes nostalgic family drama set in the American suburbs of the 70's.

Solidny dramat obyczajowy