It’s almost amazing how jaded we can become when we see a movie with a very heartwarming story and how it can almost turn us completely against it with how heavy-handed and stereotypical the story being told is. Here we have The Good Lie, which is essentially Reese Witherspoon taking the Sandra Bullock role in The Blind Side and instead of saving a troubled American teen, she’s saving Sudanese refugees. It’s all wonderful stuff, this is what we should all be doing, but when it’s presented in such a glossy manner from the Hollywood machine it turns our stomachs a little bit.
Now, whether you liked The Blind Side or not, I think most of us will admit it wasn’t nearly as unpalatable as we expected it to be and the same might be said for The Good Lie, though they are certainly doing their best to hit your emotional core pretty hard, even in the official synopsis, which adds… “[starring] Sudanese actors Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal, and newcomer Nyakuoth Weil, many of whom were also children of war.” That “many of whom” bothers me a little, because if you’re going to throw that in there and you’ve only just given me four names, that suggests not all of those four were children of war so either give me the exact details or none at all. Why be vague?
Along with Witherspoon the film co-stars Corey Stoll (Midnight in Paris, “House of Cards”) and was directed by Philippe Falardeau (writer and director of the Oscar- nominated Foreign Language film Monsieur Lazhar). The film is set for an October 3 release and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see it in the Toronto Film Festival line-up.
Give the trailer a watch and let me know what you think.
