Two families and one tick

Lymelife beams with promise but leaves you itching for more

By Marcell Minaya
Published: April 17th, 2009 | 12:00am

To define Derick Martini’s first feature Lymelife as just a story about two dysfunctional families would be a generalization and disservice to the film. Yes – both families are broken and rapidly deteriorating before our eyes, but whose family isn’t brushed with strokes of imperfection? It’s possible that director Martini has painted the standard American portrait of suburban normalcy.

Lymelife introduces two neighboring Long Island families set in the frantic Lyme disease era of the late ‘70s. The adult story told through 15-year old Scott Barlett (Rory Culkin) explores adolescence with childhood friend Adrianna (Emma Roberts) and the truths of adulthood through their parents’ strained marriages, betrayals, and debilitations.

The casting is undeniably the film’s strongest suit, showcasing wonderful performances from an ensemble cast of young and seasoned actors. Although his talent was evident in the coming-of-age drama Mean Creek, Rory Culkin gives an illuminating performance in Lymelife – similar to brother Kieran in Igby Goes Down and as eye opening as older brother Macaulay in Party Monster. Emma Roberts not only pierces with her inherited beauty but also with striking confidence as a precocious temptress. Kieran Culkin, as Jimmy Bartlett, transforms a thin role lacking development into a character colored with complexity, while the parental cast – Alec Baldwin, Jill Hennessy, Timothy Hutton, and Cynthia Nixon – embody in painstaking form the realism of suburban dystopia.

This promising debut, which balanced dramatic and comedic breakthroughs commendably, just needed a bit more shock-severity. Climatic scenes reached such infinite heights; it left me anticipating devastating turns that were simply left lurking but never realized. Though the ambiguous ending filled the void somewhat, it didn’t come as a complete surprise. And, without the capable cast, flat scenes could have run rampant throughout a script with such potential.

The indie feature, executive produced by Martin Scorsese, examines family dynamics and their mere human flaws with insight and care. Lymelife is such a firm debut with few ticks to its name, that all is forgiven if just for its acting and sheer heart.