DVD Review: The Good Liar

The Good Liar
(DVD Good)

Stellar acting from Ian McKellan and Helen Mirren lifts what could have been a fairly tepid suspense drama into a more respectable category in The Good Liar. McKellan plays a life-long con artist, Roy, looking to make his latest big score by wooing recent widow Betty (Mirren) and then tricking her into giving him access to her life savings. But it’s a “long con”, requiring him to invest a great deal of his time and efforts to achieve his goals. And the more we learn about Betty, the more likely it seems that she’s got some secrets of her own that she’s hiding.

The pacing is slow and deliberate, allowing the relationship between these two characters to build and develop. The supporting cast, including Roy’s accomplices and Betty’s grandson, are very good. The director, Bill Condon, makes use of multiple close-ups of McKellan’s face, in both light and shadow, allowing that master thespian to express a myriad of thoughts and emotions with his craggy visage.

When the twists in the plot finally arrive — it’s a suspense drama, you have to be expecting twists — the emotional payoff is excellent. Well worth your time if you’re a fan of either of these two actors, especially McKellan. This DVD has minimal special features — basically just a short list of “deleted scenes”, some of which would have helped with some plot points, and others of which would have simply ruined the surprises. Don’t watch those until after you’re done with The Good Liar.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Any of the other films featuring Ian McKellan and Helen Mirren. Personally, other than his turn as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings films, I recommend McKellan in Mr. Holmes. And my favorite Helen Mirren productions are her run as Jane Tennison in the Prime Suspect TV mini-series, and her action turns in RED and RED 2.]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official MOVIE web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library – Public Services

Have you watched this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

The Job by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg (on CD)

The Job
by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg [Compact Disc Evanovich]

The Job is the third in the Fox and O'Hare series of crime caper novels, co-written by bestselling authors Janet Evanovich (the Stephanie Plum novels among others) and Lee Goldberg (the Monk and Diagnosis Murder novels, among others). I've hugely enjoyed the audiobook versions of all three titles in the series so far -- The Heist, The Chase and The Job, although I'll have to say that The Job seems the weakest of the three to date. The series features by-the-book female FBI agent Kate O'Hare, reluctantly teamed up with con artist extraordinaire Nicolas Fox. Fox was O'Hare's obsession for many years -- tracking him from one huge con job to another but always having him slip away at the last second. When she finally caught him, he struck a deal with her FBI bosses, which they took -- he would help them go after the "big fish" (the criminals too big for law enforcement to catch by traditional methods), in return for staying out of prison. The catch is -- Kate is his "handler", coordinating his illicit FBI work, while still pretending to be hunting him down in the real world. Each of the novels features Fox and O'Hare assembling a team of specially skilled assistants, as they put together scams to take on big time criminals -- Fox luxuriating in his semi-official status, and Kate chafing at all the laws he's continuing to break. Meanwhile, their unresolved sexual tension is a constant source of witty banter. These novels feel like a light-hearted take on the old 1970s-era Mission Impossible television series, or its more recent spiritual successor Leverage, and the dialog is sharp and funny. They're not perfect, by any means, but they are a wonderful, light fluffy escape for readers in the mood for a quick read. The audiobook narrator, Scott Brick, does a tremendous job on this series. My only complaint is that the second and third books seemed to wrap up their plots way too quickly, with way too many plot threads hanging loose. But still fun to read! -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library [ see Scott's Reviewer Profile and more of his reviews ]

[Also available in traditional print and Large Print formats.]

[ official Fox and O'Hare page on the official Janet Evanovich web site ]

Have you read or listened to this? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!