My Review of "The Good Liar"

The Good Liar is a dramatic movie that came out back in 2019. I would have loved for it to be a mystery movie but they don't give you enough clues to categorize it as a mystery. Instead what we have is a movie that opens up with tons of different layers as it slowly unravels before your eyes.

It all starts out with our two major characters Betty and Roy. The two look to be senior citizens looking for love. They both meet under false identities only to reveal themselves on their first date. I guess you can understand some people being apprehensive in revealing themselves to strangers through internet dating sites but I don't know if people really go that far.

Unfortunately for Betty, we as viewers soon find out that Roy has a second life. He's actually a conman. He's been swindling people for money through various underhanded schemes. A lot of them are pretty elaborate and involve hundreds of thousands of dollars. I find it pretty funny that they're all running around the same area in London and don't really bump into each other. Then again you could always argue that London is a huge metropolis of people but I still find this hard to believe.

As the story progresses we soon learn that Roy always has some scheme up his sleeve and Betty may be one of them. Throughout this movie you sort of have this cat and mouse game where Roy will continually try to woo Betty while participating in his conman antics outside of the relationship.

There are some pretty interesting themes that ran through my head throughout the movie. One of the questions that popped into my head was why Roy was still chasing that almighty dollar when he's in such an advanced stage in his life. He should instead be living the life and enjoying the millions that he already has. Maybe people need the thrill and adrenaline rush from cheating someone else. They do make some mention of this in the movie but I think that maybe there's more to it than that.

Certain twists later on in the movie had my brain going into overdrive as I was wondering why some of the characters didn't utilize any logic in certain scenes. This happens fairly seldom and they don't really detract from the entire movie. However the payoff at the end of the movie is somewhat satisfying, depending on which side you're rooting for. Technically it's a little predictable.

When I mention what side you're rooting for, I mean that you kind of just love all the characters in this movie. Each character has something you love about them and the actors in this movie really have to be commended. They bring such charm and charisma to their characters. Even the bad guys have some redeeming qualities even though you know they're evil. I wasn't sure if it was the writing or if it was just the actors being able to give that energy and light to their roles. I'm betting it has more to do with the actors than the story.

Although there isn't any action or general craziness in this movie it still had me engaged. They were able to keep me fixated at what was going on with the clever banter between Betty and Roy. Plus Roy continually keeps the story going with his conman antics throughout the movie.

Overall, I have to say that I had fun watching this one. It was really a big surprise to me because I thought it was going to put me to sleep. That's why I have to give this movie a 7 out of 10. Those of you that aren't sure about watching this movie, I'd say give it a try and you won't be sorry. This movie may surprise you too.