The Good Liar A Solid Cat and Mouse Strategic Kind of Film Grade: B
Source: IMDB
The Good Liar tells a story of a con man named Roy (Ian Mckellen) whom has a date with Betty (Helen Mirren). Roy’s objective is to secure Betty’s fortune and leave her to the dust. Twists and turns will come to play, as we discover Roy’s true identity of his past life. The Cinematography and Score t’was both solid, had some lovely shots and over view shots, as I did enjoyed the simple music in this film. I found the set design and costume design also lovely, I enjoyed the elegant wardrobe and sets of this film, t’was fancy. The cast in this film all in all were solid. Roy played by Ian McKellen played a solid performance as this convincing innocent con man, reminds me of my dog Charlie the Wiener Dog. Roy on the outside looks like an innocent old man, but on the inside is a diabolical sleaze bag of a con man. He may not be an over the top villain till the very end, but this was a well written antagonist. Betty played by Helen Mirren t’was pretty good in this role, made up for last years Winchester that’s for sure. Betty was a simple innocent old lady, whom had wealth which lured Roy into beginning a relationship between the two. I found the twist behind Betty to make her even a better character and helped the story as well... I really did not see that coming at all, a nice written protagonist. I also enjoyed Jim Carter playing Roy’s protégé, it was a nice supporting performance. My biggest flaw with this film has to be Roy’s decision making, regarding him trying to secure Betty’s fortune. The plan he tried to execute was so poorly thought out, I mean he’s supposed to be an experienced con man right?! Why is he already trying to convince Betty to share a joint bank account, when they’ve only been in a relationship for less than a month?! Do you seriously think she would just hand over and share her wealth with you just like that?! I found that baffling given Roy’s experience with this line of work. Also I thought Betty handled her situation in the end poorly, like sheesh she could’ve been easily killed, did not think that through. I found The Good Liar to be a solid strategic film, that was intriguing and simply entertaining. The main strength with this film comes with the twist in the third act: I thought it was truly unexpected and just really boost this story up. Before the twist, the story t’was nice as I found myself playing a game of chess, a clever cat-mouse game. But when that twist comes... Damn and I mean DAMN! It felt very rewarding and also delivers an unexpected knock out punch, t’was shocking indeed. The film offers a nice mixture of drama and suspense, it may not be a roller coaster ride, but it surely keeps the minds of the audience puzzling in the pieces as the story goes along. Overall, The Good Liar is a good film. I recommend this film, it t’was a nice experience as the movies. You know I never understood the meaning behind movie theaters selling tea/coffee, but after watching this film.... Heck this is a film you sit down and have a nice hot drink in your hand. -Mitch Smietana