The
latest film from accomplished director/screenwriter Bill Condon (‘Chicago,’
‘Dreamgirls,’ ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ ‘The Greatest Showman’) is ‘The Good
Liar,’ which doesn’t have a single song‑and-dance number in it but reunites the
eclectic director with ‘Mr. Holmes’ star Ian McKellen in a slow-burning,
twist-filled mystery/revenge potboiler set in contemporary England.
In
‘The Good Liar,’ the 80-year old McKellen takes on the role of a dirty rotten
scoundrel, a con-man who swindles big-time investors through his well-designed
and elaborate schemes and one who’s not above pushing a man onto the subway
tracks when confronted afterwards. Not
simply content with stealing money from unsuspecting businessmen, he set his
eyes on the nest egg (over $2 million pounds sterling) of 74-year old Helen
Mirren who, as a retired Oxford professor, picked the wrong man on “Silver
Singles” so to speak. Alas, he seems to
develop a particular “fondness” for her as he grew to know her more. Is he having second thoughts and growing a
soft spot, or will he proceed with his plan to enrich himself and render her
penniless?
Let’s
just say that, unless you ruin the movie by reading the plot on Wikipedia, the
twist ending of ‘The Good Liar’ will surprise and maybe even shock you. This movie is ultimately about settling a
score, and how people can hold a grudge for over half a century and bide their
time exacting sweet revenge. As such I
find it rather incredible, but that doesn't mean it wasn’t altogether entertaining.
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