The Lie (2020)

Director: Veena Sud

Star Cast: Peter Sarsgaard, Mireille Enos, Joey King, Cas Anvar, Patti Kim, Devery Jacobs

Running Time: 95 minutes

Genre: Suspense Drama

4.4  /10

The Lie, based on the 2015 German film Wir Monsters, tells the story of 15-year-old teenage girl Kayla Logan (Joey King) who is struggling with her parent's divorce. One day family's life turns upside down when Kayla admits to killing her best friend Brittany (Devery Jacobs). The situation becomes worse when Jay and Rebecca (parents) played by Peter Sarsgaard and Mireille Enos decide to cover it up. Did they succeed in saving her or did the detectives find the truth? Is there any conspiracy involved? Why did Kayla murder her best friend? To get all such answers, you have to watch the movie.

Veena Sud's screenplay is a childsplay. She tries very hard to bamboozle us with her whiffed directorial efforts but unfortunately, she's trying to hide something that one can see with his/her eyes closed. The mystery unfolds exactly in the way we predict it. This is not what we expect from a suspense drama. The story demands more run time and a little bit of work on the script.

Mireille Enos, Peter Sarsgaard, and Joey King (left to right) in The Lie (2020) 

The Camera captures beautiful shots of mother nature sometimes here and there but most of the film takes place at Kayla's house. The background music works as a silver lining, keeping our hopes up throughout the film.

The film fails to trigger any of our emotions too. It's really sad when you see actors breaking a sweat but the story is not as sparking. None of the supporting characters are developed well or given proper screen time. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the film treats them as guests.

Mireille Enos and Peter Sarsgaard, in The Lie (2020) 

The film seems lost somewhere while targeting too many social issues like parenting, divorce, racism with non-Americans, teenage life, etc.  It fails to touch the heights of Apple TV's miniseries, Defending Jacob (2020), based on a similar theme. Even the makers didn't care to choose a less revealing title, showing their lack of devotion towards the film. It's hard to expect a film like this when Jason Blum's name is associated with it who produced films like Get Out, Insidious, Whiplash, and many more.

Overall, a rushed final act and a half-baked story make The Lie, one more disappointment of the year. If you love to watch movies with a straightforward storyline without turns and twists you can give it a try. 

Note: The Lie is one of the eight movies to be released on Amazon Prime as a part of Amazon Studios and Blumhouse Television's collaboration, Welcome to the Blumhouse.

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