THE GOOD LIAR – Rated R – 1 hr. 49 mins.
Directed by: Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters, Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Parts 1 & 2, Beauty and the Beast)
Written by: Based on the novel by Nicholas Searle, Screenplay by Jeffrey Hatcher
Starring: Helen Mirren, Ian McKellen, Russell Tovey and Jim Carter
If you love suspense and intrigue, then follow me into the life of meek and mild new widow Betty McLeish (Helen Mirren). Betty has been looking for a new companion, when she happens upon the likes of smooth, and very shrewd Roy Courtnay (Ian McKellen). Smitten to say the least, or so it seems, Betty and Roy are embarking on a courtship per se, that is until Betty’s grandson Steven (Russell Tovey) starts poking around in Roy’s past, in an attempt to save his grandmother, from this troll of a man…
Well, needless to say Betty knows best, as she ventures into a business agreement with Roy, and his partner in crime Vincent (Jim Carter) too, but in this game of cat and mouse, who’s really playing who???
I give THE GOOD LIAR a rating between MUST SEE ON THE BIG SCREEN and WAIT AND CATCH THIS FILM ON DVD! If suspense is your game, and if you love twists that you definitely won’t see coming, then you have to catch Mirren and McKellen in action, as these a little more mature than usual con artists, totally keep you guessing the whole way through! Mirren is spectacular once again, playing the meek and mild, or maybe not so much new widow, and McKellen is awesome as well as the smooth, and debonair older gentleman, hell bent on sweeping his latest endeavor, right off her feet. Jim Carter is excellent too, playing the con man’s accomplice to his dastardly ways! But the most important part for me within this film, was the plot twist that arrives slowly and methodically, without any warning, alas stopping me in my tracks. Yes, THE GOOD LIAR totally eluded me as to where we would actually end up, with one of the best plot twists in any film I’ve viewed so far this year! So, with all the accolades, why not a perfect review? Sadly, because I found it rather annoying the lack of chemistry on and off with our leads throughout this film, but as I pondered and analyzed the incredible turn of events that actually ends up taking place once the incredible twist in the storyline arrives, maybe that disconnect was purposefully orchestrated by Director Bill Condon, and if that’s truly the case, then all I can say to that is bravo dear sir…BRAVO!!
MATINEE CHAT with Kathy Kaiser 