The Good Liar

By Joanna Langfield

What may be a rather traditional plot is makes good thanks to its two terrific stars. And that’s no lie.

Somehow, Helen Mirren and Ian McKellan have never worked together before, but their relish at teaming up now is palpable. We watch as two widowed English seniors meet up through online dating. While we’re hoping this will be the answer to the two’s lonely state of affairs, we’re clued in right after dinner, as Roy departs for Stringfellows club, where he maneuvers some clearly not so savory business deal. Oh oh. He’d best not take advantage of poor sweet Betty! Try as she might, Helen Mirren just cannot come across as a total naïve. And, especially after her grandson spills the beans, boasting that she used to teach at Oxford, I mean, come on. We pretty much figure we’ve got two good liars on our hands here and, despite a few mawkish and murky plot twists, we do.

Based on Nicholas Searle’s novel, Jeffrey Hatcher’s script is better when it focuses on the interplay between the two stars than just about at any other time. Con artist schemes and Nazi revenge stories make for popular reads, and maybe movies (there’s a cute reference to Tarentino’s far more fiery Inglorious Basterds) but the wordy explanation of much of what goes on here bogs the whole thing down. It’s much more fun to watch Mirren and McKellan do their thing, both independently and together. They make fine company for us, especially if we don’t pay particular attention to too much else that surrounds them.