The Good Liar

Name: The Good Liar
Released: 2019-11-15
Cast: Helen Mirren, Ian McKellan, Russell Tovey, Jim Carter

The Good Liar

R
1h 50m
2019

63%

age 15+

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Career con man Roy (Ian McKellen) sets his sights on his latest mark: recently widowed Betty (Helen Mirren), worth millions. And he means to take it all. But as the two draw closer, what should have been another simple swindle takes on the ultimate stakes. Legendary actors Mirren and McKellen star together on screen for the first time in this suspenseful drama about the secrets people keep and the lies they live.

Director:

Bill Condon

Producer:

Bill Condon, Greg Yolen

Writer:

Jeffrey Hatcher

Cast:

Helen Mirren, Ian McKellan, Russell Tovey, Jim Carter

Rotten Tomatoes® Score

TOMATOMETER®

63%

Critics Consensus: The Good Liar is less than the sum of its prestigious parts, but Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren keep the proceedings consistently watchable.

Reviews

MovieReelist.com

MontiLee Stormer

It's a calmer, gentler mystery, and maybe that's the point. Sometimes it's the quiet death of a thousand cuts that's the most devastating.

This highly entertaining mystery takes us through a series of sinuous plot turns... (Too many, some may feel). Its most enjoyable feature, however, is the delicious spectacle of screen veterans Mirren and McKellen going toe to toe.

A joyously bleak thriller that seeks to prove that the finest actors in this country now have the freedom to grow old disgracefully on the screen.

I needlessly waste almost two hours of my life seeing this nonsense that on the surface appears to be complex with its criminal plot of mysteries and deceits. [Full review in Spanish]

This was just a bad adaptation of a book.

May 28, 2020

FULL REVIEW

Common Sense Media

age 15+

Common Sense Says

Not much for kids in mature, unexpectedly violent thriller.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Good Liar is a fraud/scam drama based on Nicholas Searle's novel about a con man and his target. Widow Betty (Helen Mirren) meets a gentleman (Ian McKellan) through an online dating site. Viewers quickly realize that he has insincere intentions: When not charming her, he's taking a meeting at a strip club (topless dancers wear only G-strings) or being physically violent with an adversary. Overall, the violence feels more extreme than the movie calls for, with some brutal altercations and grotesque deaths. Betty is quite sharp and displays admirable self-control, including setting sexual boundaries despite efforts to persuade her otherwise. But the movie also includes assault and rape. And very few scenes don't involve drinking (wine, champagne, scotch, etc.) -- something is always on the table or in the hand of an elegant adult. Profanity isn't frequent, but it is harsh ("bitch," "f--k," "s--t," and more).