L.I.E.

Howie Blitzer's life is deeply affected by his mother's death in a car accident on the Long Island Expressway. The tragedy shatters his family and leaves him grappling with grief. This event sets the tone for his strained relationship with his father and his search for solace.

Within a month of his wife's death, Howie's distant father Marty brings a trophy girlfriend into their home. The new presence amplifies Howie's sense of abandonment and widens the emotional gap. This tension kicks off the dynamic that drives Howie's choices later.

Howie finds solace in his best friend Gary, a juvenile delinquent, and the group of four teens forms a pattern of breaking into neighborhood houses. Gary is protective yet wary about Howie's uncertain sexuality. The burglaries become Howie's outlet for grief and thrill-seeking.

One night, the four boys break into Big John's house during his birthday party. Gary knows his way around the place, and they narrowly escape after stealing two rare Russian pistols. This burglary marks Howie's first deep involvement in criminal activity.

John interrupts them later and confronts Gary about the burglary. Gary names Howie as his accomplice, pulling Howie deeper into John's circle. The accusation shifts the dynamic from casual crime to a dangerous, personal entanglement.

Pretending to be a friend of Howie's mother, John invites Howie back to his house. He demands the return of the guns and hints at repayment with sex, blurring lines of consent and power. Howie leaves in discomfort, and later acts out by fantasizing about John and the girl in the video.

Gary steals money from Howie's father and runs away to Los Angeles, leaving Howie to cope alone. Howie feels abandoned as his only link to stability dissolves. The loss intensifies his dependence on John.

Howie and John begin a tenuous friendship, with John becoming a quasi-father figure. There is no sexual activity, but talk of sex and power dynamics abound. Howie's stay at John's house becomes a surrogate family arrangement, complicated by John's 19-year-old lover Scott.

Howie discovers a stash of child pornography in John's house, including photos of a younger Gary as an 11-year-old boy. The discovery shatters any remaining innocence and reveals the dark underside of John's world. Howie processes this revelation amid the fragile trust between them.

Howie's father catches him skipping school and hits him; later the father is arrested for dangerous practices in his construction business, and Howie fears he has been abandoned. He goes to John, wearing only his underpants, hoping for sex, but John explains what happened with his father. Howie breaks down and cries.

The next morning, John fixes Howie breakfast and drives him to see his father in jail. The father apologizes for hitting him and promises to spend more time with him, but Howie remains unconvinced and tells him never to hit him again. The scene marks a fragile, ongoing attempt at healing between father and son.

After dropping Howie off, John returns to the rest area where young hustlers connect with johns. Scott, John's 19-year-old lover, drives by and shoots him dead, leaving Howie stunned. The violence underscores the perilous turn their world has taken.

In the closing image, Howie stares out at the expressway and vows he will not let it get him. The film ends on a note of wary determination and the possibility of a different path.