The Good Liar
- Great acting by the two leads was wasted on a story that was too slow and too predictable.
Full Disclosure: I would pay to go see Helen Mirren and Ian McKellan read the proverbial phone book, so when I heard that they were starring in their first ever movie together, I definitely had it earmarked as one I was going to see.
Review
I suppose I should start with what the movie did well, because unfortunately it’s going to be a short list, followed by me bitching and complaining about all the things at which it failed. First off, as anticipated, the acting was fantastic, especially from the two leads, Mirren and McKellan. They’ve both been around so long, it’s hard to believe that this was their first movie together. Not only were they both individually great, I thought that their chemistry was excellent as well. Even though I knew this was essentially a con man movie, I was totally engaged in the fumbling awkwardness of their “first date”.
So why did this movie fail? Because as a thriller it wasn’t particularly thrilling, as a mystery it wasn’t mysterious, and as a con man movie the con wasn’t really very clever. The film opens with the two leads, having met through an online dating service, meeting up for the first time at a coffee shop. After some initial awkwardness, the date appears to go quite well, leaving McKellan’s character, Roy, hoping that he’s made enough of an impression for Mirren’s character, Betty, to call him again. However, after she gets picked up from the date by her protective and suspicious grandson, Roy immediately heads to a strip club, where he meets with a few associates to discuss a financial scam they’re running.
As expected, McKellan and Mirren were great. Just a shame damn things like plot are important.
Although it would have made it more difficult on the marketing team, it would have been much better if we weren’t told right at the outset that Roy was a con man. It would have been much more interesting to let the relationship grow a bit first before we knew that there was something nefarious going on.
That was a clear plot choice, but there were a number of other times when the filmmakers seemed to think they were dropping subtle hints about things, only to tip their hands entirely. The “scam” with Roy’s criminal associates is a perfect example, as it seemed incredibly obvious from their first meeting that the real scam involved double-crossing two of those associates, something which, of course, happened only a few scenes later. Raise your hands right now everyone who believes that the double-cross will cause Roy problems later. Surprise, surprise, you’re right!
This probably sounds like an overwhelmingly negative review, but most of that is just how disappointed I am in what a waste of talent the storyline and plot turned out to be (funny how that’s important). Despite all of the problems, it wasn’t an unwatchable movie – there were some scenes I really enjoyed – but the total package was just so much below the level of what it should have been that it should only be watched as an acting exercise, rather than an actual film.
Spoilers Ahead
Betty and her grandson, who actually isn’t for some reason, in a completely unnecessary twist.
For the purposes of this movie, this section should probably be called “Really Obvious Plot Twists That Everyone Saw Coming A Mile Away” Ahead. But as this seemed to be the bulk of the movie, let’s get right to it. A little more than halfway through the movie, thanks to the ham-fisted efforts of Betty’s “grandson” (yes, in quotation marks – it turns out he’s not, in a completely unnecessary twist), we discover that Roy is actually German, and took on the identity of a British soldier following WWII. None of this comes as a surprise, as the movie drops numerous blatant hints along the way, starting with Roy’s early refusal to say what he did in the war.
The “discover” happens during a confrontation between Roy, Betty and her not-grandson during a trip to Berlin. This scene also involved some unnecessary hiding of information that we discover only a few minutes later. Roy first tells his version of what happened, still pretending to be the British officer, except that in his re-telling the German gets cut on the neck, and Roy has a scar on his neck, something which had already been a point of conversation. A few minutes later when he finally admits that he was the German in his story, it’s as though the actors and director of the film are just then catching up to what the audience already knows.
The ending was also not a big surprise. I’m sure everyone in the theatre, or really, anyone who’s even seen the trailer, had already guessed that Betty was playing a game of her own and was going to turn the tables on Roy at the end. What we didn’t know was the reason why – it turns out that Betty (not her real name) is also German, and as a little girl during the war, was being tutored by Roy (not his real name) until he raped her and then sold her family out to the Nazis for being opposed to the war effort. The problem is that placing this backstory near the end of the movie in a flashback took away much of its emotional impact. We’d already been watching these characters for well over an hour, and already knew that Roy was a bad guy.
Additionally, I say “near” the end of the movie, because the ending was dragged out for far too long. From the moment that we realize Betty is actually pulling the double-cross on Roy, there’s a good 40 minutes or so still to watch, including the long drawn out backstory exposition. It all took so long that I half expected there to be another real twist that I hadn’t seen coming. Sadly, there wasn’t.
Seeing Jim Carter play against type as a conman was at least entertaining!
5 Quick Hits
I enjoyed seeing Jim Carter play against type as a conniving conman. Seeing everyone’s favourite morally upright butler from Downton Abbey (Mr. Carson) trying to swindle an elderly woman out of her money was just a fun diversion.
I’m a sucker for movies set immediately post-WWII. Whether it’s set design or CGI, I’m always impressed by the ability of good productions to portray what I assume to be a realistic view of what a bombed-out city like Berlin would have looked like. This movie was no exception, even if the scenes themselves were narratively clumsy.
The character of the “grandson”, who it turns out is actually Betty’s grandson’s boyfriend, was a mess. By the end we realize he’s in on Betty’s play all along as her chief researcher (I guess). I suppose the filmmakers thought that by having him act suspicious of Roy from the beginning it would all make sense in the end. Instead what it did was make the audience wonder “why is he being such a dick if he doesn’t know?” and solidified our suspicions that the tables would eventually be turned on Roy.
In their final exchange, Betty tells Roy that she forgave him “long ago”, which was clearly a ridiculous thing to say when she had just spent weeks (or months) away from her life and family, living with the man she detests, desperately trying to get revenge.
McKellan had the more show-y role in this one. It highlighted that he does such an amazing job of sliding across a range of expressions. The way he can shift from charming to legitimately menacing in a few moments is mesmerizing.
