The Good Liar, the "wonderful" crime thriller starring Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren, has landed a new streaming home in the UK. With a twisty narrative and two acting legends at the centre, this is a perfect weekend watch!
The film, which is based on Nicholas Searle's 2015 novel of the same name, sees McKellen portray Roy Courtnay, a career con artist. His next scheme involves stealing money from wealthy widow Betty McLeish (Mirren), but the job isn't so simple.
Directed by Bill Condon from a screenplay by Jeffrey Hatcher, the crime thriller is available to stream in the UK on HBO Max, with the streamer going live in the region earlier this week.
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On its own, HBO Max starts at £5.99 per month. The basic package also comes with existing NOW and Sky subscriptions, including Sky Ultimate TV – which costs £22 a month and also includes Netflix, Disney+, Hayu and Discovery+.
Upon its release in 2019, The Good Liar grossed over $33 million at the box office, and received a generally warm response from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the thriller currently has an approval rating of 64% from 166 reviews.
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"The Good Liar is less than the sum of its prestigious parts, but Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren keep the proceedings consistently watchable," reads the site's critical consensus, with The Sydney Morning Herald calling it an "enthralling exercise".
"Mirren and McKellen never waver. Smooth at being smooth, their conviction always convinces us, and their ability to register multiple subtle changes of emotion is consistently impressive," noted Los Angeles Times, while Austin Chronicle called it "pleasantly playful".
The crime thriller garnered a similarly positive response from viewers, with IMDb currently reporting a solid average user rating of 6.7/10 from 54,000 logs. In one 9/10 review, a user dubbed it "crazy, bonkers [and] wonderful".
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"This is such a difficult film to review, because there is so much going on, it's probably one of the most random films you'll ever see. When you watch it, you'll keep waiting for the moment where the twist come, only they don't stop at one twist," they added.
HBO Max launched in the UK on Thursday (26 March), and has plenty of other offerings aside from this crime thriller. If you want an awards favourite, then recent Best Picture Oscar-winner One Battle After Another could be up your street.
The Good Liar is streaming now on HBO Max.
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
