The Good Liar(2019)

R
Rated R for some strong violence, and for language and brief nudity
1h 49m

Release Date: Nov 15, 2019 | Wide

Consummate con man Roy Courtnay has set his sights on his latest mark: the recently widowed Betty McLeish, worth millions. But this time, what should have been a simple swindle escalates into a cat-and-mouse game with the ultimate stakes.

Releases

Original Release | Nov 15, 2019

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Box Office Results

Results

Opening Weekend US & Canada:
$5,605,051
Total US & Canada:
$17,156,058
Total International
$16,700,000
Total Worldwide:
$33,856,058

Current Showtimes

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(U.S. Only)

Director & Top Cast

Bill Condon
Director

Helen Mirren
Betty McLeish

Ian McKellen
Roy Courtnay

Russell Tovey
Stephen

Jim Carter
Vincent

Mark Lewis Jones
Bryn

Laurie Davidson

Hans Taub (1948)

Phil Dunster

Roy Courtnay (1948)

Lucian Msamati

Beni

Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson

Vlad

Tunji Kasim

Michael

Spike White

Hans Taub (1943)

Stella Stocker

Frau Schröder

Daniel Betts

Herr Schröder

Nell Williams

Lili

Celine Buckens

Annalise

Lily Dodsworth-Evans

Hannalore

Athena Strates

Charlotte

Gallery

Technical Specifications

Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1

Other Details

Country of Origin: United Kingdom,United States

Language: English,German,Russian,French,Spanish

Summaries

Plot Summary

Roy Courtnay (Ian McKellen) is an aging British con artist who, along with his business partner Vincent (Jim Carter), manipulates people into giving him access to their finances through a string of deception and false identities. In 2009, his latest target is Betty McLeish (Helen Mirren), a former history professor at Oxford who lost her husband a year ago and has savings in excess of 2 million pounds. Roy meets Betty on an online dating site, where Roy had a carefully cultivated fake profile as a non-smoker / non-drinker. They make plans to meet in the physical world. They both meet in a bar for drinks and dinner. Roy says that his wife Harriet died 3 years ago, and Betty lost her husband a year ago.Betty calls later in the day, and they go for a movie together. Roy then pretends that his knee is hurting and lays the foundation of his story. Roy, another day, books a date at a restaurant that is conveniently closed. Betty takes him to her home. Stephen is Betty's grandson and is doing his Doctorate at the Royal Holloway. Stephen is suspicious of Roy from the beginning. Stephen and Betty drop Roy to his home, where he says that he has to climb several flights of stairs to get to his home.Feigning a bad knee, Roy manipulates Betty (by overruling Stephen's concerns) into allowing him to stay at her house. He steadily encourages her to open a joint offshore investment account with him, so that he can steal her money.Simultaneously, Roy and Vincent run an investment scam with their mark Bryn (Mark Lewis Jones) and his associate by employing fake Russian investors. Roy says that the Russians have funds to invest and want to be part of the British investing elite. Roy pretends to "invest" 200K pounds and the famed Russian investor puts in 800K pounds, to encourage Bryn to part with his funds to the tune of 400K pounds, with a promise of quick doubling of the money. The scheme is to invest in a property in the Caribbean which will be resold in a week's time at twice the purchase value, by prior arrangement.One of the fake Russians, actually a Polish butcher, demands a greater cut of the take; in response, Roy orders thugs to break the butcher's hand with a meat tenderizer. Realizing he has been robbed, Bryn follows Roy during his date with Betty. Upon spotting Bryn nearby, Roy sends Betty into the shops before luring Bryn into Charing Cross tube station. There, Roy subdues Bryn by stabbing and then shoving him into the path of an incoming train, killing him instantly. Roy flees and reunites with Betty back at the shops.Roy and Betty vacation in Berlin, where Roy appears to understand German, though he claims he does not. Betty's grandson Stephen (Russell Tovey) then takes the couple to a flat that Roy recognizes, and Stephen reveals that 'Roy Courtnay'-a young British Army officer-was killed there in 1948 by a Nazi war criminal whom he was tracking, according to Soviet records. This causes Roy to explain that his real name is Hans Taub (Laurie Davidson), who was Roy's German translator, and that he stole Roy's identity so that he could leave Germany and reinvent himself. Betty accepts his explanation and dismisses Stephen's objections.Soon afterwards, Roy and Betty plan to transfer their money into the joint account. Vincent suggests to Roy that he leave at least some of the money for Betty to help with her medical condition, but Roy dismisses the idea and insists that he'll leave Betty financially defrauded just like his previous victims. Vincent reluctantly complies and later observes the couple transferring their money into the joint account. However, after leaving Betty and returning to his flat, Roy discovers that he no longer has the keypad needed to access the account. Roy returns to Betty's house to reclaim it, only to find Betty waiting for him and that all the house's contents have been removed.Betty attempts to force a confession out of Roy, before revealing that her identity and personal history are all fake. Her real name is Lili and she and Roy have met before as German teenagers in 1943, when Hans was tutoring her in English. On their last session, Hans sexually assaulted Lili. Hans wanted to have sex with Lili's older sisters, but they made fun of him and insulted him, so he took his revenge on Lili.After her parents dismissed Hans from continuing his tutoring lessons, he denounced Lili's father as a traitor, and he was executed by the Nazis. This drove Lili's mother to commit suicide. Later, Lili's sisters were killed in an explosion just two weeks before the death of Adolf Hitler. After the war ended, Lili suffered at the hands of the Russians, learning to be a good liar for survival. Eventually, she made her way to England.After recounting on their past, Lili explains to Roy that she has been fully aware of his plan to con her all along. Stephen, who was in fact the boyfriend of Lili's real grandson Michael, tracked Roy/Hans' criminal history and they confirmed his identity in a DNA test using a locket from Betty/Lili's childhood that contained a piece of Hans' hair. She also reveals that Vincent has betrayed Roy after being confronted with her knowledge of their crimes.Betty takes all of Roy's money out of their joint account, leaving him only enough money to pay back the victims of his earlier con. Just as she prepares to leave the house, Roy locks the door and attacks her - but she manages to fend him off before he is confronted by Bryn's associate and the Polish butcher whom he previously cheated. Betty then leaves the house as Roy, refusing to pay his clients back, is consequently beaten up.Weeks later, Roy, having suffered a stroke during the fight, is in hospital, unable to speak or move. Vincent pays him a visit to gloat and bother him. Meanwhile, Betty lives happily with her extended family.

Storyline

Career con artist Roy Courtnay (Sir Ian McKellen) can hardly believe his luck when he meets well-to-do widow Betty McLeish (Dame Helen Mirren) on-line. As Betty opens her home and life to him, Roy is surprised to find himself caring about her, turning what should be a cut-and-dry swindle into the most treacherous tightrope walk of his life. — New Line Cinema London, 2009. Both elderly, widowed and thus lonely, Roy Courtnay and Betty McLeish start dating after meeting on an online dating site, they each managing to get over the little white profile lies they eventually learn of the other as they know those lies are part of the process especially as they are each guilty of promulgating such themselves. What Betty is unaware of however in cherishing Roy as a companion she so desperately needs is that Roy is a high stakes con artist, who, at least according to his regular partner in crime Vincent, does it as much for the thrill as for the money. He is also not averse to using violence, including kill, to maintain his cover. While the stakes of his cons are high, Roy has to continue to do it to survive as he usually has to share those high stakes among several accomplices. Eventually, Roy begins to believe that he's hit the jackpot in Betty in learning that her net worth is close to £3 million, of which he would only have to share a small portion with Vincent. In gaining Betty's confidence, Roy believes he has one thing going against him and one thing going for him. The former is Betty's suspicious grandson, graduate student Stephen, who is writing his dissertation on Albert Speer and who seems to be looking out for his grandmother in not trusting Roy on any little thing. And the latter is learning that Betty has health issues, which will take her earlier from the world than later. The one thing that Roy does not know which may throw a wrench into his plans with Betty is why he continually sees the same vehicle driving by her house, the occupant who seems specifically interested in their direction. — Huggo