The Good Liar: Hitchcock Vibes

It's Gandalf and the Queen.

The Good Liar was released on February 4. Viewers can try Blu-ray, DVD and Digital. The Digital format appeared early on January 21.

LIAR

The Good Liar is the first time where Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren have appeared on screen together. (They did do a play.)

Not a lie.

The Good Liar, based on the 2015 novel of the same name by Nicholas Searle. The book appears to have been better received in the U.K. than North America as it was a 'Sunday Times Bestseller.'

The Good Liar wasn't quite appealing for moviegoers. The film received 64% on Rotten Tomatoes. It's enough for the 'Fresh' rating. The box office numbers settled around $33 million worldwide.

Bill Condon directed the movie from a screenplay by Jeffrey Hatcher. The main cast also includes Russell Tovey and Jim Carter.

TAKE

Would I buy this film? Yes…but wouldn't rush for it. 

The Good Liar isn't the best movie you will see this year. But I liked it much better than the previous film, Motherless Brooklyn. (Sorry, Edward Norton!)

The Good Liar gave me a bit of an Alfred Hitchcock vibe throughout. The kind of movie that he could get made in the 1950s or 60s. And perhaps a little mix of The Sting, which starred Robert Redford and Paul Newman.

(This is a lot darker story than those movies would be. Rated R for strong violence, language and very brief nudity.)

We learn quite quickly that Roy Courtnay - played by McKellen - is a schemer and a con man. He comes across widowed Betty McLeish (Helen Mirren) online, and they meet. Courtnay eventually discovers McLeish has quite a bit of money. He becomes determined to find a way to take it all from her.

Despite the protests and suspicions of Betty's only grandson, Stephen - played by Tovey - Betty's feelings for Courtnay grow. She soon decides to let Courtnay stay at her house.

With a title like The Good Liar, I think it's safe to say there are twists and turns. But to say much more than that would ruin the story.

Some viewers may be able to guess what comes, some may like how it unfolds, and some will not like any of it. I'm more on the 'like' side, obviously. Some turns caught me by surprise.

McKellen and Mirren carry this movie as one, or the other, or both are in basically in the majority of the 109 minutes - with credits. While it's not the most fast-paced movie, say like, Lord of the Rings, but the two of them acting against each other kept my interest. And there are some suspense thrills and tension that builds over the movie. I would see another film with the two of them.

Also, McKellen is 80 and Mirren is 74! Which is pretty cool.       

SPECIAL FEATURES OVERVIEW

The DVD only has the deleted scenes.

A Perfect Match: Inside the Good Liar (13 minutes, 1 second.)

-The behind-the-scenes reel. It's a talk about the novel - it's Nicholas Searle's first. The casting of Ian McKellan and Helen Mirren and their thoughts of the movie. The complications of filming in London, but the beauty of it as well.

Over 12 minutes of deleted scenes (12 minutes, 41 seconds.)

- A few are more alternate scenes, which involved Roy asking Stuart to pick up a package at Roy's home. Then what happens afterwards when Stuart returns.

- There's a slightly amusing sequence of Roy and Betty meeting others for terrible dates before they meet each other.

- A few scenes also make sense for cutting as they reveal too much, too soon.

Warner Brothers Home Entertainment