Despite feeling a bit under the weather, I decided to see the movie The Good Liar last night because I was afraid it would be leaving theaters soon to make room for all of the big Thanksgiving releases and I just couldn't pass up an opportunity to see Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen spar with each other on the big screen. Roy Courtnay (McKellen) is a career con-artist who sets up elaborate (and fraudulent) investment schemes with his partner Vincent (Jim Carter) to scam people out of their money. He begins chatting with Betty McLeish (Mirren), a wealthy and recently widowed woman, through an online dating service and the two eventually meet for dinner where they both confess to a few white lies on their dating profiles They form an instant attachment and soon he introduces her to Vincent, who suggests that she open a joint off-shore investment account with Roy (which Roy will then use to steal all of her money). Betty naively agrees but her nephew Steven (Russell Tovey) is suspicious and investigates Roy's past. He discovers that Roy has been lying about much more than his investment scam. However, Roy soon finds out that Betty has been lying about her past, too. Who is scamming whom? This movie is definitely a slow-burn and I predicted the big plot twist well before it happened (although not the details which are, quite frankly, a bit convoluted and seem like they belong in a different movie). What makes this movie so enjoyable are the performances of Mirren and McKellen. The two of them are, as you might imagine, absolutely riveting and they have such great chemistry as they match wits against each other. They are just so much fun to watch and I particularly enjoyed McKellen, who plays Roy with a glint in his eye. This is a very average movie but it is elevated by its two stars and I recommend it for them.
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