The Good Liar

THE GIST: A con man picks his new target to swindle: a widow with a considerable fortune. Things get complicated when he starts to actually have feelings for her. Will that get in the way?

The Good Liar has a very simple premise, is reasonably well written, has a good amount of twists, and features two of the best living actors: Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren.

And yet, the end result is underwhelming, but it's hard to tell precisely why. It's not that the story isn't interesting, and the casting is excellent even for supporting roles (like Russell Tovey and Jim Carter).

Perhaps it's simply that, in spite of the many twists in the plot, it's not that hard to see where it's all going, which is surely not useful when dealing with a caper.

THE BOTTOM LINE: I would recommend this movie only to fans of either McKellen or Mirren, because they're as good as ever. There surely are worse ways to spend a couple hours than in the company of these two fine actors.

Grade: 6