The Good Liar

Confidence trickster Ian McKellen has his sights on fleecing widow Helen Mirren in this thriller adaptation of the novel by Nicholas Searle. The audience knows from the outset he's up to no good, with McKellen switching nimbly from old-geezer affability to calculating schemer as the trap falls into place. Mirren, on the other hand, exudes a certain intelligence and fortitude rather at odds with her character's apparent gullibility. Moreover, what we learn about his unsurprisingly shady past takes the story on an elaborate, not altogether convincing and frequently rather unpleasant historical path. One should acknowledge the film's determination to deliver something viciously unexpected from what starts out like gentle Sunday evening TV fare, yet the gulf between the two eras of storytelling proves too wide to bridge. It's moderately diverting, but ultimately a bit hard to swallow.