The era when adult dramas used to regularly top the box office has long been a thing of the past. There are so many amazing options for adults to watch on television, studios find it less and less rewarding financially to even attempt to put out anything that does not appeal to all four audience quadrants. Warner Bros. attempted to create a resurgence of these types of films in 2019 with films such as Motherless Brooklyn, Richard Jewell and Just Mercy. This was a gamble that unfortunately did not pay off financially, for the most part, which is a disappointment for those who miss these types of mid-budget films. One of the more moderate successes from these attempts is The Good Liar from director Bill Condon (Dreamgirls) based on a novel by Nicholas Searle. This is a film that was sold on the promise of mystery and intrigue involving two of our greatest living actors.
The Good Liar is the story of an aging British con artist named Roy Courtnay (Ian McKellen), who is a master a convincing people to allow him access to their finances. For his latest project, he sets his sights on Betty McLeish (Helen Mirren), a former history professor at Oxford who has become a widow in recent years. After connecting through a dating site, the two hit it off and quickly become entangled with one another. Roy delicately attempts to gain Betty’s trust and moves in with her while simultaneously running scams elsewhere in the city with his partner in crime, Vincent (Jim Carter). The accelerated relationship does not sit well with Betty’s grandson, Steven (Russell Tovey), who justifiably believes that Roy cannot be trusted. As the stakes escalate and Roy gets more desperate, the movie turns into a pretty effective cat-and-mouse thriller with some nifty twists and turns.
The deft direction from Bill Condon keeps this from becoming a bottom-of-the-barrel entry into the genre. The composition of the shots is beautiful to behold, and the editing of the picture keeps the extraneous bits in the deleted scenes where they belong. While the movie has a very deliberate pace, it always manages to keep its momentum by ratcheting up the tension when needed. There is a menacing streak to Roy that perhaps peaks a bit too early in the film, but it keeps you on edge since you are unsure of how far he is willing to go to prevail. You may find yourself getting a bit ahead of the reveals, but there is usually an additional layer that lends itself to genuine surprise. The conclusion of the film may seem slightly out of the realm of possibility, but the movie lays the foundation throughout to make it believable enough.
As well plotted as the movie is, the real draw is seeing two titans of acting such as Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen spar with each other. There is an easy rapport with one another that sells the idea that Roy is winning over Betty, but when things get serious the many layers of the character are slowly revealed. There is a reason why these two have endured well into their twilight years. They take the script as written and give it a greater sense of grandeur and urgency that few others could tackle in such a way. There are admittedly flaws to this movie, mostly logic-based script decisions, but there is immense satisfaction in watching great actors dig into a well-shot drama. If you go into this looking for an engaging little thriller, you should find yourself pleased with the results. At the very least, it makes a compelling argument for why studios should support mid-budget dramas.
Video Quality
The Good Liar comes to Blu-Ray with a perfectly serviceable 1080p transfer that handles the material well, but never really pops off the screen in any meaningful way. Skin tones and colors look very natural with a nice amount of fine detail present. There is very little in the way of compression artifacts or digital noise. Black levels hold up moderately well with some detail coming through in shadows. There are a few shots that tend to be on the softer side due to how they were filmed. There is some good detail present on the leads faces during close up shots. This is a nice, clean transfer that provides a nice viewing experience without much of a “wow” factor.
Audio Quality
The film comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that does the trick. Dialogue is the main driving force of the film, and there are never any issues with clarity or voices being overwhelmed by competing elements. Surround speakers do not get much of a workout outside the light patter of crowd scenes and some train sounds. The mysterious, sly score from Carter Burwell likewise surrounds you in the track. Activity in the low end is not much of a factor here outside a few kinetic moments in nightclubs and crowds. Nothing is really going to blow you out of your seat with this track, but it is perfectly acceptable for the type of movie you are watching.
Special Features
- A Perfect Match – Inside The Good Liar: A thirteen-minute dive into the making of the film from the development to completion. There is some insight into why they chose to tell this story that was part of a larger novel. Details of shooting particular sequences are revealed and the real-life friendship of the leads is touched upon. There are interesting anecdotes from the author of the book Nicholas Searle, director Bill Condon and stars Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen.
- Deleted Scenes: Nearly thirteen-minutes of unused footage composing eight sequences is presented here. Most of these sequences were cut for good reason, including some that would have spoiled the twists late in the movie earlier than necessary.
Final Thoughts
The Good Liar is a nice throwback to the adult mysteries that used to be more prevalent from major studios. The plot offers some decent twists and turns, but the main reason to watch is to see Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren being effortlessly great on screen. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment delivers a fine A/V presentation and a couple of extras that dig into the film a bit more. If you do not go into this expecting anything Oscar-worthy, you should find it a fun enough way to spend a couple of hours.
The Good Liar is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
