LYMELIFE
The Story:
Set in late-seventies Long Island, Lymelife follows two families who crumble when tangled relationships, real estate problems and Lyme disease converge in the heart of suburbia. Fifteen-year-old Scott Bartlett (Rory Culkin) is a gentle boy, radically different from his blustery father Mickey (Alec Baldwin) and tightly wired mother Brenda (Jill Hennessy). An outbreak of Lyme disease, as well as the accompanying paranoia, hits their suburban community hard. When the Bartletts' neighbour Charlie Bragg (Timothy Hutton) is diagnosed with the illness, Brenda calms her fears by duct-taping Scott's cuffs shut.
Despite the onset of this mysterious ailment, the two families are quite busy. Since Charlie is unable to work, his wife Melissa (Cynthia Nixon) must keep the income flowing herself. She is hired by Mickey, who is the developer of an enormous subdivision, and though this gesture is a friendly favour, it is also patently motivated by lust. Mickey's history of philandering is one of the many things upsetting his wife Brenda, who yearns for the comfort of their old neighbourhood in Queens. And growing up amid this marital cocktail is Scott, who has been in love with the Braggs' daughter Adrianna (Emma Roberts) for all of his young life. The news – both good and bad – is that she is starting to return his interest.
Things really heat up when Jimmy (Kieran Culkin), Scott's older brother, comes home on leave from the army. Jimmy shares many of his father's personality traits, and his confrontations with Mickey trigger events that permanently alter both families.
Starring:
Alec Baldwin, Kieran Culkin, Rory Culkin, Jill Hennessy, Timothy Hutton, Cynthia Nixon, Emma Roberts
Directed By:
Derick Martini
Release:
2009
Watch the Trailer:
