[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

The Good Liar (2019) ★★★

The main selling point for this is the first on-screen pairing of Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren, two of the most accomplished actors in the history of stage and screen. The film is worth watching for their performances as they are both so good they elevate the fairly mediocre subject material to a higher level than it deserves.

The film wants to be a tense thriller in which you are rooting for Mirren's wealthy widow, not wanting her to fall victim to McKellen's conman. There is some good material here and the two leads, plus Russell Tovey, are extremely watchable.

I felt shortchanged with the dénouement as it left me thinking 'Really? That's the motivation and the entire reason for the actions?' At that point, I should have wanted to immediately watch the film to see what I missed, but this seems like a film where the plotting feels a bit half baked and the ending doesn't link in with the rest of the film to the point where you'll watch it again to see where you were deceived by Bill Condon's direction and Jeffrey Hatcher's script.

It's a film which is worth watching for the interplay between the two stellar leads, but one which won't stay with you for long after the credits have rolled unless you want to spend some time wondering what made this so appealing to McKellen and Mirren in the first place.