Last Updated on July 30, 2021
PLOT: An elderly, smooth-talking con man (Ian McKellen) romances his way into the good graces of a lonely widow (Helen Mirren) intending to rob her blind, but is she as naïve as she seems?
REVIEW: I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Ian McKellen have as much fun as he seems to be having in THE GOOD LIAR, which reunites him with his GODS & MONSTERS, BEAUTY & THE BEAST and MR. HOLMES director, Bill Condon. After all, it’s not every day McKellen gets to play a complete and utter scumbag, with his silver-tongued con man about as far removed from some of his iconic roles as you can get. It’s fitting that at eighty, McKellen contributes one of the most playful performances of his career, chewing the scenery with aplomb in this smart, twisty thriller.
It helps that he has a world-class co-star in Helen Mirren, also playing against type as the mousy retiree. When one thinks of Helen Mirren, they certainly don’t think of a mousy, naïve homebody who could ever be suckered by a guy like Ian McKellen, and their back and forth is utterly delicious. Both are hiding things and finding out what the skeletons in their closet are is the fun of THE GOOD LIAR, and make no mistake – it is a whole lot of fun.
Taking place a decade ago, mostly due to the fact that McKellen and Mirren are too young to convincingly play people that could have taken an active role in WW2, THE GOOD LIAR’s twists and turns are perhaps slightly predictable, but despite being based on an acclaimed novel, it’s less the story that wins you over here than the performances. McKellen really comes to life, bouncing through the thoroughly unlikeable part as if this is the kind of role he’s been longing to play for years. You figure there’s more to Mirren than meets the eye, the opening credits suggest as much, but waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under this silver-tongued con man is half the fun.
While McKellen and Mirren’s show, THE GOOD LIAR also has a couple of terrific supporting turns, most notably by DOWNTON ABBEY’s Jim Carter playing WAY against type as McKellen’s fellow-con, sporting a hipster haircut and holding court about dodgy investments and the like. While having a tiny bit more morality than McKellen, he’s along for the ride throughout and Carter, like his co-stars, seems to relish the change of pace. Perhaps the only performer in the cast that’s not in their seventies is Russell Tovey, as Mirren’s suspicious grandson, who’s frustrated by the fact that his beloved granny is falling for so clear-cut a villain. Of course, him being a PhD student studying the Third Reich should give viewers a clue about where this is going, with a more playful nod being a scene where Mirren and McKellen take in a matinee of INGLORIOUS BASTERDS.
Condon adopts a Hitchcockian-style here, letting his film be a total showcase for Mirren and (especially) McKellen, but he does throw in a few unexpected flourishes of style, such as what has to be the goriest murder scene of the year, when a cast member literally gets their face blown off. He also goes for a hard-R rating, complete with F-bombs and the like, unexpected in a movie targeting seniors to some degree.
THE GOOD LIAR is probably too much of straight-forward thriller to ever really get into Oscar contention (not to mention this happens to be a jam-packed year as far as best actor goes) but in a weaker year, I’d bet McKellen would have wound up on many people’s lists as a shoo-in for a nomination. While it’s ultimately a tad predictable, THE GOOD LIAR is nonetheless a fun ride and McKellen and Mirren are at their absolute best here. Check it out!
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