The Good Liar

2019 Directed by Bill Condon

Read between the lies.

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

Alternative Titles

The Good Liar - Das alte Böse, Art du Mensonge (L'), La gran mentira

drama mystery crime

109 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Lucy ★★½ 4

[tyra banks voice] gone girl, but for the elderly
Review by davidehrlich ★★★ 3

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…
Review by john ★★★ 6

i was the youngest person in the theater by 40 years
Review by Houston Coley ★★ 3

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.
Review by Allison M. 🌱 @ Tribeca ★★★ 1

"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
Review by Drew Ehrler ★★½ 5

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

🙂 meets 🧐 on online dating site
🧐 is actually 😈, gonna scam 🙂 bc 🙂 is 🤑
🙂’s grandson 🙃 doesn’t trust 🧐, thinks he’s a scammer (right)
🙂 doesn’t listen, lets 🧐 convince her about investing all her money into an account with him
They go on vacation to 🇩🇪, 🙃 reveals that 🧐 is not 🇬🇧, he’s 🇩🇪. 🧐 claims he switched sides after WWII to escape the crimes of 👨🏻’s 🇩🇪. 🙂 believes him.
🙂 and 🧐 finalize their joint investment. 🧐 goes on a “surprise” trip to London to visit his fake grandson. 🧐 plans to withdraw his and 🙂‘s money from their account and deposit it into a new account, then disappear.
🧐 discovers…
Review by David Chen ★★½ 3

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???!!???!!
Review by <Todd> ★★★

"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…
Review by Tay 6

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…
Review by Robin ★★★ 1

I mean I think all movies should have clips from Inglourious Basterds in them
Review by Fred 🇵🇷 ★★★½ 4

“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.
Review by Mark Cunliffe 🇵🇸 ★★★½ 3

I'm not sure what was best here, the devilish gleam that was in McKellen's eye throughout or the utter, hilarious contempt he gave the line "he designs kitchens". Whatever, he's on great form in this twisty turny thriller for the grey pound audience. Be advised though, there's a surprising amount of graphic, shocking violence for this kind of film.

Recent reviews

Review by Sameer ★★½

Promising (Not So) Young Woman
Review by kvitka ★★★½

helen mirren ily
Review by Sven Rump ★★★½

The Good Liar doesn’t break any new ground, but there’s a lot to be said for a major studio movie featuring two older stars and not having them go through age inappropriate actions and or relationships. Entertaining story of a older con artist (McKellen) continually trying to hustle and now targets the always amazing Mirren. Not a bad way to spend a 100 minutes even if the twists and turns aren’t as surprising as they might have been intended.
Review by westm ★★

a shame to see Gandalf come to this
Review by waterworld2 ★★½

Low key con thriller with a lot of twists and turns. Fairly televisual in aesthetic and approach, but efficient in its delivery. Some of the plot is preposterous, but it’s fine within the domain of the story’s mode. The film is made by the two-punch of McKellen and Mirren, who elevate the material and give lots of air to the layers of drama and performance. Also good to see a thriller that is based around character and relationships, elder abuse and gaps of actuality and belief.
Review by Dimitri ★★½

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

Helen Mirren plotting a sophisticated revenge to her abuser is the most powerful vibe in British cinema
Review by Geordie Cowan ★½

Well, I’m a bit flummoxed after watching this. It starred Ian McKellan, Helen Mirren and Russell Tovey. It had a good premise and was pretty interesting, with enough intrigue to keep us engaged. But the final third was absolutely and completely ludicrous. The farcical plot flaws reminded me of my last experience watching Star Wars.
Review by capkow ★★★★

This film shows that both Helen Mirren and Ian McKellan still have what it takes to make a compelling story filled with lots of twists and turns.
Review by bambi ★

helen mirren & sir ian mckellen.....i expected it to be good. this movie is boring as hell, utter dogshit, WEIRD SEXUAL ASSAULT SCENE WITH CHILDREN WITH ABSOLUTELY NO WARNING OR HINT THAT THIS WOULD BE WHERE THE MOVIE WAS GOING????????? GET OUT LEAVE MY SIGHT. there were two or three redeemable scenes only bc of the two stars. but this movie legitimately makes me sick to my stomach
Review by Mark Thummerer ★★

Despite the engrossing performances of Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren, The Good Liar is a suprisingly boring andfrusrating drama thriller with a dull storyline and uninteresting characters.
Review by Ben ★★★½

Gotta love a geriatric con movie!
Review by Ally ★★★★

Some thoughts-
It kept me guessing until the very end.
Her patience and resilience amazed me.
Karma is a bitch.