Lymelife (2009) is an independently produced comedy/drama written by brothers Derick Martini and Steven Martini, and directed by Derick Martini, depicting aspects of their life in 1970s Long Island from the perspective of a teenager. The film stars Alec Baldwin, Rory Culkin, and Emma Roberts.^[1] Martin Scorsese was executive producer.

The score of the film was written by Steven Martini and performed by his band The Spaceship Martini.

The film debuted at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival,^[2] in September 2008 and won the International Federation of Film Critics Award (FIPRESCI).^[3] After its theatrical release in 2009, writer director Derick Martini was nominated for a Gotham Award for Breakthrough Director.

Synopsis[link]

Set in 1979 Syosset, Long Island, New York, 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' neighbor 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 invasive 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 favor, it is also partially 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 neighborhood in Queens. Growing up amid this conflict is Scott, who has been in love with the Braggs' one year-older daughter Adrianna (Emma Roberts) for all of his young life. She is starting to return his interest.

Charlie has been spending days hiding in his basement, while his wife believes he is in Manhattan on job interviews. He is obsessed with hunting deer, though he has not done so in the two years since a deer tick gave him his Lyme disease. Scott often comes across him in the woods between their houses shooting targets, and they have a good relationship, one of the only ones Charlie is able to maintain throughout his illness. When Scott notices Charlie's hands shaking, he asks what the disease feels like. Charlie tells Scott that the illness feels like a bad flu most days, while on other days it feels like his head is on fire.

Things heat up when Jimmy (Kieran Culkin), Scott's older brother, comes home from the army on their mom's birthday. Scott uses the opportunity to discuss the awkwardness in their parents' relationship, metioning that it has been a year since he last saw a box of condoms under their bed, and even the comfort of her sons' presence doesn't seem to overcome the shame and nervousness the failing marriage is causing her. Scott thinks she is crazy, but Jimmy knows the full story of their father's philandering, and is the only one who treats her lovingly. Scott has developed the same behaviors toward her shown by the frustrated, but also guilty, father.

However, this is soon to end, since the not-well-kept secret comes out. Finally, Brenda leaves early from Jimmy's going-away party, when it is clear from the way the Mickey and Melissa drunkenly dance together that there is a relationship occurring. Jimmy and Mickey have a confrontation.

Circumstances shift when Scott learns of the affair and confronts his mother. Adrianna helps him through this, but shuns him after a rumor spread from a lie he tells a friend after she gets serious with an older boy. Once Brenda can no longer look the other way, she kicks Mickey out of the house, and he moves in next door where he has been building a larger, more modern house for the family. Brenda is once again able to act the role of an effective parent, at one point driving Scott to the house of a boy he just beat up to apologize. Scott is suspended from school for a week, and his mother takes him to his father's house so they can join forces in this crisis, but Mickey turns the conversation into an opportunity to vent his own continued anger toward her.

Charlie also confronts Mickey after he inadvertently witnesses the affair firsthand, since Mickey and Melissa had sex in the basement while Charlie was hiding out in another basement room during a non-existent job-hunting trip. When his wife finds out that he has been letting her earn the family's keep, she packs to leave. In the final scenes Scott and Adrianna reconnect and lose their virginities to each other. Brenda and Mickey also reconcile that night, and the following morning, Mickey is hanging a "For Sale" sign at the new house when Scott and Adrianna get on the school bus. Meanwhile, Charlie is stalking a deer in the woods with his rifle, which happens to make it readily available during the confrontation with his wife. The movie ends with views of the various characters and a gunshot is heard while the camera is on Scott and Adrianna riding the school bus, then reveals that Charlie has shot Mickey.

Factual Background[link]

The story of Lymelife is based on Steven and Derick's childhood in the New York suburbs of Long Island. After the incidents of the film, Steven moved from Long Island back into his birth place of New York City, where he attended the Professional Children's School with the Culkin brothers Macaulay and Kieran, with Kieran and his younger brother Rory Culkin going on to portray the Martini brothers in this film. It was during this period that Steven met his first true love, Adrianna, whose father had Lyme disease. This relationship is the basis of the love story between Rory Culkin and Emma Roberts in the film.

Shooting locations[link]

Portions of the film were shot at Montclair High School in Montclair, New Jersey.^[4] Other locations were nearby, also in New Jersey.

Casting[link]

The role of Mickey Bartlett was written specifically for Alec Baldwin, despite the fact that neither of the Martini brothers had any connection to Baldwin. Derick Martini is frequently quoted as having seen Baldwin's portrayal of Stanley Kowalski on Broadway in ""A Streetcar Named Desire" as a young teenager, and it being an "eye opening" experience for him. Jill Hennessey was offered the role of Brenda Bartlett after Jennifer Jason Leigh left the film and her replacement, Anne Heche, insisted on wearing a wig. Derick Martini chose to circumvent the conventional casting process, specifically "cold readings", and instead cast the actors based on viewing their previous work. Emma Roberts was the only main actor who wanted to audition for the director despite not having to.

Production[link]

In the Spring of 2005 the film, which was plagued with insufficient funds, was shut down on the eve of Principal photography. The funds to make the film were not raised until 2008. Despite the three year hiatus, nearly the entire original cast made time in their schedules to participate in the film. The total budget for the film was 1.5 million dollars. The shooting schedule was a scant 22 days, made only more difficult to complete due to the director's insistence on using older, larger and heavier Anamorphic lenses.

Critical reception[link]

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and won the International Federation of Film Critics award (FIPRESCI). It landed on several of 2009's critic's "Top Ten Lists" and was praised for its performances and directorial style, but criticized for its story's familiarity.

Box office[link]

The film began its North American theatrical release in April 2009. Initially, Lymelife was only shown on screens in New York and Los Angeles but eventually expanded to screens in almost every major and minor U.S city. Foreign theatrical was more fruitful, opening on screens in nearly every major foreign territory, which is rare for a smaller American independent.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Lymelife
• Lymelife at Rotten Tomatoes
• Lymelife at Metacritic
• Lymelife at the Internet Movie Database
• Lymelife at AllRovi