Produced by Jason Blum under his Blumhouse Television banner and directed by Veena Sud, The Lie released via Amazon Studios back in October 2020. The film is a remake of the 2015 German film We Monsters and stars Mireille Enos, Peter Sarsgaard, and Joey King. It can be streamed on Amazon Prime now.
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Angsty teenager Kayla (Joey King: The Act) has an incident at a river in which she seemingly pushed her friend Brittany (Devery Jacobs: Blood Quantum) over the edge of a bridge, into the icy, fast-flowing water below. Kayla’s father, Jay (Peter Sarsgaard: The Batman), is nearby and makes the decision to help cover the murder up. Soon his ex-wife and Kayla’s mother, Rebecca (Mireille Enos: The Killing), gets involved with the coverup, which all leads to an unimaginable conclusion.
The film’s premise pushes the moral dilemma of dismissing what is right in order to save our loved ones, and in the end, the payoff is more of a punishment to the viewers than a reward. Not all endings are happy, and unpredictable twists are to be applauded, but it felt like the last piece of the puzzle was ill-fitting and jammed into place. Thinking back on the film and Kayla’s actions once the credits roll, knowing how it all comes together, just results in more head-scratching than anything.
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This is a shame, as the main cast had great performances, with emphasis on Mireille Enos and Peter Sarsgaard, who are always a pleasure to watch on-screen. Ironically, though, it is Joey King’s realistic portrayal of Kayla that leads to the eventual disappointment. The turn of events presented go against everything we have seen from the character and just doesn’t quite go together.
While The Lie begins as an intriguing, wintertime thriller that leaves you guessing, the missteps in the final act are simply too big to overlook.
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