Review: The Lie

 What would you do to protect your child?

We're introduced to fifteen year old Kayla (Joey King) while her mother Rebecca (Mireille Enos) sends her off with ex-husband Jay (Peter Sarsgaard) for a weekend dance retreat. We can deduce they've been separated for a while but remain civil. Rebecca is a busy lawyer and Jay is the lead singer in a band, so they have very different lifestyles. On their way, they spot Kayla's friend Britney (Devery Jacobs) at a bus stop and give her a lift. The girls dial the passive aggressiveness with each other up to eleven, and when Jay pulls over so they can have a rest break, a sudden scream sends him running into the forest after the girls, only to learn that Kayla pushed Britney off a bridge into a river, and they can't find her body. Instead of calling the police, Jay chooses to cover for his daughter and brings her back to Rebecca. While they figure out what to do with their child murderer, Britney's dad Sam (Cas Anvar) shows up looking for her, and adds plenty of stress to the situation.

I started getting ads for this on Amazon Prime and I assumed it was a new release. It wasn't until after I watched it and went to write my review, that I realize this actually played at TIFF in 2018 and has been on the shelf since. I can see why. 

I went into this film knowing I was going to have to suspend a fair amount of disbelief. I know that I personally would call the police but I was willing to accept these parents wouldn't. I was not prepared for the fact that on top of not doing the right thing, these two fools have apparently not nor read any true crime case ever. The amount of mistakes they make is staggeringly stupid. There's a subplot with law enforcement getting onto them and of course one of the cops is the type of guy that immediately questions Sam on his ethnicity (because oh no he's brown) when it is not all relevant and then eggs Jay on later about underage Britney being "hot." It's such a gross choice in a film that's already struggling.

Aside from King and Sargaard, who really do their best with what they're given, the acting is horrendous. Enos gets better as time goes on but she's very wooden at the start, as is everyone else. No one feels like an actual human being aside from Kayla and Jay. This brings me to the ending. I'm curious if the German film this is based on went the same way. There's a 3rd act twist, and it's one I considered earlier on while watching but the way it played out managed to make everything that came before it even worse. 

This was a waste of time, and in a pandemic when I have nowhere to go, that's saying something.

Recommended: No

Grade: D

Memorable Quote: "Bet they thought they were going to get away with this, huh?" - Sam (Cas Anvar)