This film earns 9/10 stars for Sir Ian McKellen's superb performance...and let's add another star for an overall enjoyable and well-crafted, gripping story. If that is all I could say about it, then I'm talking about a rare 10/10 picture here. Unfortunately as expected, this is no masterpiece, and that is made apparent in the final act. The story becomes messy, tripping over itself in order to hastily explain its shocking twist, which is not as impactful as it wishes it could be. As the viewer, we primarily see Mirren's character through the eyes of our presumed protagonist (McKellen), and don't get much else in the way of her development, so when the bomb drops it's just missing a little something. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it just doesn't have the bite that a mystery like this requires, when finally giving away all of its secrets. The explanation of the twist feels so random or out of left field that it's somewhat absurd. We just didn't know enough about Mirren for this to matter...and so I subtract 3 stars for a head scratching finale that itself feels way too depressing to be attached to the rest of the film. 7/10
Review of The Good Liar
