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The Kids Aren’t Alright: The Films of Michael Cuesta

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Michael Cuesta is primarily known for his work as a television director, on such shows as Six Feet Under, Dexter, True Blood and Homeland. His work on these shows is very impressive, most recently on the stunning pilot for Homeland. Cuesta has also made four feature films, and they prove that his talents extend far beyond being a director-for-hire on the small screen. This review will look at his first two features.

Brian Cox and Paul Dano in L.I.E.

L.I.E. centres on characters living near the Long Island Expressway. In his opening narration, 15-year-old Howie Blitzer (Paul Dano) tells us that the expressway has claimed the lives of several people, including “Harry Chapin, Alan Pakula – the movie director… and my mother.” As we watch him walk precariously along the railing of one of the bridges over the highway, he wonders if it will claim his life as well.

We then move back in time and meet his father, who works in construction and is currently suspected of embezzling cash from his company. We also meet Howie’s friends, who break into local houses to steal items of value. Howie joins them on their next mission, which turns out to be the house of Vietnam veteran ‘Big John’ (Brian Cox). Big John is also a pederast, who regularly cruises for teenage boys. He catches the boys stealing from his basement and although they escape, Big John sets his sights on Howie. When he finds and confronts Howie, it sparks a relationship that defies expectations – it is unclear whether it will become sexual, or something closer to a father-son-type of connection.

L.I.E. is a remarkable character study of two complex, troubled individuals, and the script is interested in exploring them without reducing them to black-or-white categories. It never excuses Big John’s behaviour, but it treats him as a three-dimensional person, with complicated desires. It also never reduces Howie to simply being a victim. He is coming to terms with his homosexuality, and is a little turned on by the thought of being objectified by John. He is also distinctly aware that John is dangerous. John appears to treat Howie as a potential sex object, but it soon becomes clear that he is also interested in Howie on an empathetic level.

The script is written by Michael Cuesta, Gerald Cuesta and Stephen M. Ryder, and it is particularly effective at creating a sense of identification with the protagonists. The point of view shifts, sometimes within a scene, but the emotional state of both leads is always clear (even if their exact thoughts are sometimes deliberately obscured). Cuesta’s direction is very assured, especially since it is his first film and prior to any of his TV work. He gets a fantastic performance from a very young Dano, an actor who I don’t usually like. As expected, Brian Cox is excellent (and apparently took the role against the advice of his agent).

L.I.E. is an excellent film, one which takes potentially hysterical subject matter and approaches it in a remarkably thoughtful, humane manner. It is a fantastic debut for Cuesta, both in terms of writing and direction.

Conor Donovan, Zoe Weisenbaum and Jesse Camacho in Twelve and Holding

Cuesta didn’t write his second film as director – Twelve and Holding – but the scripts feel tonally consistent; both deal with youths who are struggling with personal problems and are looking for solutions in dangerous places.

Jacob (Donovan) is seeking revenge for a family tragedy that occurs at the start of the film. Malee (Weisenbaum) is attracted to a much older man – one of her mother’s therapy clients. The danger is not in the fact that he is in therapy (this is thankfully not that sort of film), but in her refusal to recognise the age gap between them. Leonard (Camacho) is trying to lose weight but his rotund parents are hesitant to help him (partly because they feel judged) so he finally resorts to desperate measures.

Screenwriter Anthony Cipriano understands each of these characters deeply and grants them intelligence, resourcefulness and naivety in perfect measure. They are beautifully-drawn, and as convincing and genuine as the protagonists in Stand By Me (which is as high a compliment as I can give, really). The three leads are astonishingly good, in spite of the very complex emotions asked of them.

The adult actors are all great, although Jeremy Renner is a stand-out as Gus, the object of Malee’s desire. This is without a doubt the best performance that I have seen from him. Unlike in L.I.E., there is a certain degree of caricature to some of the supporting roles (particularly Leonard’s parents) but even these broader characters are fleshed out properly before the film is finished.

Cuesta’s direction here is slicker than in his first film, but he has lost none of the emotional focus that made that film so successful. The scenes between Malee and Gus are particularly masterful; the scene in which he attends one of her school recitals is absolutely brilliant.

Twelve and Holding is a fantastic sophomore effort from Cuesta. The material may be less dangerous than in L.I.E., but for these young protagonists, the stakes are just as high.



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