The Good Liar: Film Review

The Good Liar: Film Review

Cast: Helen Mirren, Ian McKellen, Russell Tovey
Director: Bill Condon

Based on Nicholas Searle's book, The Good Liar's thrills mainly arrive in the form of watching Sir Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren interact, rather than the central so-called mystery of what's unfolding.

McKellen is Roy Courtnay, a con artist, who thinks he's found his latest mark in the form of Mirren's well-to-do widow Betty McLeish. Ingratiating himself in her life, Courtnay's swindle is under threat thanks to the uncertainty of Betty's grandson, played by Being Human's Russell Tovey.

Will Courtnay get away with a multi-million pound con?

The Good Liar has obvious twists that are relatively signposted from the start.

Not simply content to follow a fairly formulaic and perfunctory story, Condon rarely elevates Searle's story beyond an 80's UK TV thriller, with gradual revelations building to the kind of crescendo a finale would cover, and audiences would lap up.

However, times have changed now, and while the whole thing is nicely presented, the story's crippled by some flashbacks and a final act that feels flat and emotionally lacking, as the puzzle pieces slot neatly into place.

Thankfully, Mirren and McKellen make a masterful pair (and it's good to see Downton Abbey's Jim Carter playing a more contemporary role as Courtnay's partner in crime), but the film's script doesn't quite live up to their brilliance.

It's rare to see a film that relies so heavily on more mature leads, and it greatly deserves to be applauded; every scene with McKellen soars, and the film suffers in comparison when neither are on screen.

But ultimately, The Good Liar doesn't deliver a compelling enough twist or reveal to render any of what's happened previously potent; its final shots may be shocking in some ways, but that's only because of the actors' work.

Far better suited to a short run TV miniseries, The Good Liar may be masterfully shot, perfunctorily plotted and well-acted, but the truth of the matter is it lacks the gut punch to give the mystery the chance to soar, and the audience the chance to be utterly shocked and absorbed.