Movie Review: The Good Liar

Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren bring us along a tense thriller that unfortunately fails to deliver at the ending.

The Good Liar is about Ian McKellen as Roy Courtnay and Helen Mirren as Betty McLeish. Both characters join a new dating site and soon match and begin to see each other more regularly. Betty’s grandson Stephen (played by Russel Tovey) attempts to find out who Roy really is. This leads Stephen and Betty down the rabbit hole as they attempt to learn who Roy really is, and what he is planning.

The acting by all three leads is exactly to the level one would expect from these very experienced actors. McKellen especially performed surprisingly youthfully, acting with the energy and enthusiasm of a 40-year-old, easily distracting from his real age (80)

The story was engaging enough. We are shown Ian McKellen as a liar and manipulator, a brief subplot involving Mark Lewis Jones’ Bryn and Lucian Msamati’s Beni, getting tricked by Roy and his accountant into stealing £100,000 from them both. These brief interludes from Betty and Roy’s pairing increases the pressure as Roy gets closer to Betty and seemingly becomes unstoppable.

Russel Tovey has always been an interesting actor. His appearance in episode two of Sherlock’s second season wasn’t a true measure of his acting capabilities. The History Boys proves this, but The Good Liar isn’t as good as The History Boys. Tovey’s performance wasn’t particularly memorable, it was similar to his role in Sherlock.  

Simply put, the film was pretty good. It was interesting, intriguing and was entertaining. Until the end…

*spoilers*

The end was a massive slap in the face for anyone truly invested in the events occurring. Roy’s character had been portrayed throughout as a liar and manipulator. The ending reveal that he was a Nazi who sexually assaulted Betty when she was a child as well as her sister, added onto the fact that he caused her Mother’s suicide, and her father’s execution by the (SS) was simply overkill.

We were shown that Roy was a villainous character. He manipulated his friends and colleagues, attacking them when they made a simple request. Earlier in the film we even witnessed him push a man in front of a train and easily flee the scene to continue his date with Betty.

Basically, this feels like mindless shock value. Something to make his implied beating all the better in our minds. In this age where Hollywood especially is being put on a pedestal with the rise of the #metoo movement, this feels like a mockery of the concept of sexual assault. It serves no purpose and ruined any prior enjoyment one could have.

*end of spoilers*

The Good Liar is a good film. It was enjoyable and held some strong moments both acting-wise and through the direction. If one was to see it on Netflix or on DVD for a cheap price, I’d definitely recommend it. If you do this, stop it soon after Roy heads back to London. It’s not as satisfying, but it’s significantly less insulting and painful.