Went to see the new con artist movie The Good Liar. It’s not just a con-man movie though… it’s an old person con-man movie. You want your sexy crosses and double crosses with a touch of grey? We got your Helen Mirren and your Ian McKellen right here!
So The Good Liar is about a con-man (McKellen) who diverts his time between setting up high-dollar cons involving international baking and meeting lonely rich women on dating sites. In particular, he targets lonely widow Helen Mirren… she’s not super rich, he thinks, but she’s got money. And there’s a hint he might like her… but her grown son is suspicious.
If you’ve seen any con-man movie, you’re always on the lookout for the turn-about, the double-cross. I won’t reveal if such a thing happens in this movie… but such a thing happens in this movie (I won’t spoil). I’m not sure if I was supposed to be surprised at what happens or if the movie expected me to figure it out. Either way, there are definite details to the twists I didn’t see coming… though that’s partly because the movie kind of randomly becomes a completely different movie and it’s not immediately clear why. I’m unsure if this is a witty, smart script or just something they are tossing at the wall to see what sticks.
Not a bad movie though… you can’t argue with the quality of the acting if nothing else. And there’s certainly a gleeful amount of con artist twists and double-crosses that you’d hope to be in a movie like this. It largely works on a minute to minute basis… just that I’m not sure the overall story, once revealed, really works.
Score: 79