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British Posters of the First World War

John Christopher

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Book

During the First World War the authorities emulated the simple slogans and strong graphic imagery of...

Grumman F6f Hellcat, Vol. 1

Tomasz Szlagor

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Book

Grumman F6F Hellcat was one of the best fighter aircraft of the World War Two era and the most...

LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated The Lie (2020) in Movies

Nov 18, 2020

The Lie (2020)

2020 | Thriller

6.3

(3 Ratings)

Movie Rating

To sum up The Lie in one word - frustrating.
This recent thriller from Blumhouse, based on 2015 German film Wir Monster, has a lot of good ingredients, and some decent performances but there's just so much that bogs it down.

First off, the lead cast here are great. Peter Sarsgaard and Mireille Enos in particular are heart wrenchingly believable as two parents desperately trying to protect their teen daughter (Joey King) who has confessed to impulsively murdering one of her friends. It's a slow burn of a plot, and Sarsgaard and Enos do a hell of a lot to make it watchable.
Joey King's character is stupidly unlikable however. I got the feeling that we as the audience were supposed to be on her side, hoping that she wouldn't get caught - like the filmmakers we're going for a Psycho vibe or something, but her character is so obnoxious and spoilt, that all I wanted was for her to go to prison. It's a big hiccup considering the narrative centres around her so severely.

Then there's the twist - no spoilers here, but fuck me, it's stupid. All good thrillers need a good twist to round things off, but the one we're subjected to here requires a huge suspension of disbelief on the viewers part. It asks too much, and ruins what is otherwise a fairly tense and minimalist thriller.
The snowy setting adds some beauty to the films aesthetic, but it's not enough to detract from everything that makes The Lie more unenjoyable than it should be.