The Lie with Joey King, Peter Sarsgaard, and Mireille Enos is better than you think. Warning! Spoilers ahead! Amazon‘s new movie The Lie isn’t getting the best reviews and is averaging about a 5 on IMDB and 42 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s easy to understand what’s wrong with the movie and why people are disappointed, especially if they were expecting the psychological thrills of Get Out.
Now that Blumhouse inked a deal delivering eight movies to Amazon Prime, expectations were high — it’s understandable. But before you write off The Lie, you may want to give it a chance. Especially since the reason you may find it unbeliebable, is the reason it’s better than you think.
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The Lie tells a tale, an unbelievable story and somewhere between the plot, the superb acting (let’s face it, this is a stellar cast) and the twists that leave you saying, this is unrealistic, there is a lesson to be had — and it’s more than just parents going out of their way to protect their child.
The Lie is an in-depth study on lying itself. There are many levels to lying and some people live their lives only telling little white lies. Others, on the other hand, are pathological liars. Some people can’t seem to tell when a lie is unbelievable or not, and they will boldly say outlandish, wild stories and expect people to cater to them. The reason people do this is for attention.
In essence, the premise of The Lie is sound, even though it is unbelievable.
For a real-life example, Jodi Arias committed murder and told one outlandish lie after another when questioned by authorities. At one point, she told law enforcement that ninjas (yes, ninjas) had broken into Travis Alexander’s apartment and murdered him.
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To a reasonable person, this lie is unbelievable, but to Jodi Arias — well, she actually thought this would keep her from facing justice.
Or when Casey Anthony continually lied to authorities about the imaginary “Zanny the Nanny” who had taken care of her daughter, Caylee Anthony, for two years and took police to Universal Studios in Orlando to show them her non-existent office and never told the truth, not until she walked down a corridor where her office was supposed to be. Only then did she admit she made it all up.
What people find wrong with The Lie is actually what makes it a profound (yes, profound) exploration into the nature of lying.
Though it seems unbelievable that two young girls would lie about murder in order to spend a weekend with a boy or get some parental attention, real life shows us that people have told outrageous lies for similar reasons.
Does anyone remember Balloon Boy?
What is a lie? What makes a “good” lie from a bad lie? How far will someone go to protect a lie once told? What is the impact of a lie on those who have been lied to?
In many ways, Kayla’s lie to her parents, Jay and Rebecca sent their lives into a whirlwind that seems unbelievable.
Yet, in real life, the same could be said about Casey Anthony’s lie to her parents. George and Cindy Anthony were thrust into the media spotlight and their world turned upside down while they were left at the mercy of Casey Anthony’s lies.
Is the movie flawed? Are the lies too unbelievable? Does the rational mind say, ‘Look, if Kayla really pushed Brittany off the bridge, she could have just said it was an accident and she fell off?’ Sure. But real life shows us that when it comes to lying, rationality doesn’t come into play.
Lies aren’t rational — if they were, they wouldn’t be lies.
Were Kayla’s lies plausible? Again, let’s look at George and Cindy Anthony and what real-life parents will do when faced with a child whose lies, on the surface seem very obvious to others, but because of the parental bond, can’t see clearly.
The Lie is much better than people are giving it credit for. It is more than a cautionary tale of how two teenagers can plot together and cause all hell to break loose without any regard for the impact they are having on others.
It is an exploratory look at the nature of lying itself — from outlandish, unbelievable tales, to covering up true emotions (remember when Kayla lied about Sam being abusive and turned to her father and said, “I learned from the best?”
Rebecca’s character explored the guilt that comes after a lie is told and meanwhile, Kayla looked like a psychopath who could murder without any guilt or a squeak of a conscience.
Though she may not have been a murdere, was she any less a psychopath for letting the lie go as far as it did?
Were her parents?
Did you watch The Lie? What did you think about the movie?
Charisse Van Horn is a freelance writer from Tampa Bay. She enjoys writing about celebrities, entertainment, and fashion. Any reproduction of this article outside of Celebrity Insider will be met with legal action by the writer.