Review of Lymelife Starring Culkin Brothers

Alec Baldwin Also Stars in Film About 1970s Family Life

Mar 25, 2009

Lyme Disease is only one of the many ailments plaguing this small Long Island suburb.

On the surface, 15-year-old Scott Bartlett (Rory Culkin) may seem like a normal, average kid. Just beneath the surface, however, he leads a strange and troubled life.

Scott’s well-to-do parents (Alec Baldwin and Jill Hennessy) have a rocky relationship. His unstable brother, Jimmy (Kieran Culkin), is visiting home on furlough from the Army. His long-time crush, Adrianna (Emma Roberts), seems to prefer older men. Adrianna’s mysterious father (Timothy Hutton), whom Scott has befriended, suffers from Lyme Disease and a failed marriage to his wife (Cynthia Nixon). All this dysfunction, repression, and chaos swirl around Scott, a sweet-faced boy who tries to say and do the right things.

In the late 1970s when mysterious Lyme Disease-carrying ticks terrorized the nation, it was a time of fear and uncertainty. This same sensibility carries over into the personal life of young Scott, who painfully (and sometimes humorously) hovers on the brink of manhood.

In addition to his evolving relationship with his parents and coming-of-age experiences with his cute neighbor, Scott’s interactions with his brother help define his character. He endures bullying at the middle class high school because of his wealthy real estate developer father, yet Scott attempts to deal with the situation on his own.

When “my-hands-are-lethal-weapons” Jimmy interferes by giving the bully a severe beating, we see the first sign of his older brother’s instability. Throughout Jimmy’s visit with the family, more family secrets are revealed, and Scott is forced to re-evaluate his views on the people who mean the most to him. As flaws in the brother he once idolized become apparent, Scott must also look inward to assess how his own life parallels that of his brother.

The Culkin Brothers Star As Brothers

Real-life brothers Rory (The Chumscrubber) and Kieran (Igby Goes Down) radiate warmth, depth, and sincerity from the screen. Regardless of what their off-screen relationship is really like, they are so convincing in Lymelife that their interactions become the centerpiece of the film, even though Jimmy makes a hasty exit back to the Army about two-thirds into the film. The younger Culkin superbly carries the weight of the movie on his developing shoulders.

The rest of the ensemble cast includes Baldwin playing the loud-mouthed abuser as he has in so many other films – My Best Friend’s Girl and The Cat in the Hat, for instance. Likewise, Nixon plays a married version of her promiscuous Miranda role from Sex and the City. As the fragile mother of Scott and Jimmy, Hennessy (Crossing Jordan) plays the part with just the right amount of vulnerability. Hutton (Leverage) comes across as highly sympathetic in his tragic role. Roberts (Unfabulous) delivers a quirky, if not very deep, performance as Scott’s love interest.

From the well-written script to the authentic acting to the 1970s soundtrack, Lymelife provides a disturbing, and memorable, depiction of American suburbia.

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