“A
serious topic served up with a light
dusting of dark humour, Lymelife is a
coming-of-age comedy drama revolving
around two fractured neighbouring
families whose stories become
inextricably entangled...”
FIRST LOVE, UNFAITHFULNESS, LIES AND TRAGEDY touch the lives of timid teenager
and Star Wars fan Scott Bartlett (Rory Culkin) and the object of his desire,
strong-willed girl-next-door Adrianna Bragg (Emma Roberts) when her father Charlie
(Oscar-winner Timothy Hutton) is struck down by Lyme Disease in the critically-acclaimed
film Lymelife, winner of The International Critics Awards at the Toronto
Film Festival in 2008.
Having contracted the disease after being bitten by a tick while deer-hunting,
Charlie is becoming sicker and is showing signs of the expected psychiatric
disturbances. Unknown to his family, he takes to spending his days getting stoned
in the basement of his home rather than admitting to his wife Melissa (Cynthia
Nixon) that he has lost his job.
Melissa works for Scott's father Mickey (Emmy-winner and Oscar nominee Alec
Baldwin), who owns real estate company The Bartlett Group and whose own marriage
to Brenda (Jill Hennessy) is in trouble. Neglected by her husband, Melissa is
having an affair with Mickey that seems to be the worst kept secret ever.
Scott is frustrated in his attempts to get Adrianna to see him as a potential
boyfriend as she insists she prefers to date older boys and is apparently seeing
the sophisticated Blaze Salado (Logan Huffman). And things become more difficult
when Adrianna sees Scott being beaten by Todd O'Leary (Adam Scarimbolo), who
as a result of the attack is beaten by Scott's brother Jim (Kieran Culkin),
who is home on leave from the US Army.
As events unfold, will Scott progress on his journey to manhood and get the
chance to even things up with Todd? Will Charlie discover his wife's infidelity?
Will Brenda be able to repair the damage to her marriage, ease the increasing
tension and friction and accept Mickey's desire to move house — and is
Adrianna ever going to want more than just Scott's friendship?
In this semi-autobiographical film set in the late 1970s in Long Island, New
York, Lymelife benefits from excellent character development and a talented
cast taking advantage of the movie's dark comedy moments.
An enjoyable, clever and appealing movie, Lymelife is a semi-autobiographical
tale about the American Dream gone wrong and has an intriguingly compulsive
storyline delivered with wit, style and sensitivity. If you enjoyed American
Beauty and The Ice Storm, you will love Lymelife.
Lymelife also features: Brandon Thane Wilson as Stuart; Phillip Pennestri
as Father Pazzo; and Louis Ruffolo Jr as the Bartender. The film is written
by Derick Martini and Steven Martini; Director of Photography is Frank Godwin;
Art Director is Matt Munn; Composer is Steven Martini; Produced by Steven Martini,
Barbara Defina, Jon Cornick, Alec Baldwin, Michele Tayler and Angela Somerville;
and Directed by Derick Martini. Lymelife is Executive Produced by Martin
Scorsese and William Baldwin is one of the co-Producers.
• The quirky coming-of-age comedy drama Lymelife
makes its DVD rental and retail debut, courtesy of Network Releasing, on 23
August 2010. Certificate: 15 | RRP: £14.99 | Running Time: 95 Minutes | Catalogue
Number: 7953456.
Special Features — Theatrical Trailer | Stills Gallery | Interview
with Emma Roberts, filmed in London in 2010 as part of the UK publicity tour.
"Lymelife… an intriguingly compulsive storyline delivered with wit, style
and sensitivity" — Maggie Woods, MotorBar
"Excellent!" — The Guardian
"The year's quirkiest coming-of-age film" — BBC Radio 5
And **** each from Heat Magazine, New! Magazine, Total Film and the Evening
Standard
"Welcome to our wonderful little family and our perfect little suburban life"
— Jim Bartlett from Lymelife
“A
serious topic served up with a light