2019 Directed by Bill Condon
Career con man Roy sets his sights on his latest mark: recently widowed Betty, worth millions. And he means to take it all. But as the two draw closer, what should have been another simple swindle takes on the ultimate stakes.
Helen Mirren Ian McKellen Russell Tovey Jim Carter Mark Lewis Jones Laurie Davidson Phil Dunster Lucian Msamati Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson Aleksandar Jovanović Michael Culkin Nell Williams Tunji Kasim Spike White Stella Stocker Daniel Betts Celine Buckens Lily Dodsworth-Evans Athena Strates Jane Fowler Dino Kelly Bessie Carter Brigid Zengeni Albert Welling Stefan Kalipha
Bill Condon Nick O'Hagan Richard Brener Aaron L. Gilbert Greg Yolen Jason Cloth Jack Morrissey Anjay Nagpal Andrea Johnston
The Good Liar - Das alte Böse, Art du Mensonge (L'), La gran mentira
On their first night out together after meeting on a dating site for widowed septuagenarians (OK Boomer?), Roy Courtnay (Ian McKellen) and Betty McLeish (Helen Mirren) take in a screening of “Inglourious Basterds” at a London cinema. It’s the summer of 2009, and neither of these characters knows what happens at the end of Quentin Tarantino’s revisionist World War II extravaganza. Leaving the theater, Roy scoffs at what they’ve just watched: “Young people will think that’s what actually happened.” Betty isn’t so sure — she argues that the modern world has done more to clarify history than it has to obscure it.
More than just a crafty bit of foreshadowing (the full mirth of which isn’t clear until almost two…
From the esteemed director of some of the Twilight movies and 2017’s Beauty and the Beast, The Good Liar is a slightly more well-shot and acted version of one of those random BBC TV movies that starts playing around 3 in the afternoon. It’s humdrum for most of the runtime, and I almost fell asleep, but it does get a little delightful in its preposterousness toward the end. I have no idea why it exists or who its target demographic might be, other than Oscar voters looking for an excuse to give Helen Mirren her dues.
"Be careful. It's deeper than it looks."
Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen directed by Bill Condon sounds like a blast. And it's a film with a succinct script. It tries to rise above with some twists, but really it felt bloated and unnecessary. I really wanted to like both of the characters or I hoped it would feature a little more redemption.
Vegan alert:
Red meat pounded
Me 50 minutes before the end of this: wtf
Me 20 minutes before the end: WTF?
Me 17 minutes before the end: WTF?!?
Me 13 minutes before the end: WTF???!
Me 10 minutes before the end: WTF???!!???!!
maybe the best liars all along were The Good Liar’s filmmakers, who managed to deceive me for the first two-thirds of the movie that they knew what “plot” and “narrative” and “plausibility” meant, only to pull a switcharoo, revealing that they either don’t know what those things are, or they don’t care to respect them. either way... they got me good!
kudos must be given for the set-up: Mirren and McKellan are excellent distractions, and delightful enough to watch that you buy into the way they sort of ham it up for the characters. you may even think, like me, there might be clues or hints in their gestures and looks. if you pay enough attention, perhaps you can guess what…
"Be careful, it's deeper than you think" - Betty,
- 2019 Ranked: boxd.it/2lsbC
Elaborate revenge plots are so much work.
Tumblr, Reddit, the internets.... okay whatever zoomer. Do you know what old people are into? They are committing murder and tricking each other for sport! Old people are soooooooo much cooler than you. In The Good Liar, a dude who is pretty slick tries to scam on Helen Mirren and it goes okay... or does it?
There is a part where the two of the leave a showing of the film Inglorious Basterds and Roy gets upset because he doesn't want people thinking Hitler was shot with a macine gun and he says young people are dumb enough to fall…
“Do you know who you are? You’re the only person on this planet who makes me feel that I’m not alone.”
You had me at Ian McKellen, Helen Mirren, AND Russell Tovey. To let them loose in a juicy, elegant thriller that keeps you on your toes and lets them all have a ball? Yes sir, this was every bit an absolute pleasure to behold. Perfect for satiating your craving for a tense and more than competent thriller.
P.S. They already won me over and they STILL threw in some Inglourious Basterds love for good measure.
P.P.S. Almost forgot Carter Burwell's score which is once again a stand out.
