Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren match wits in the new trailer for The Good Liar. The upcoming dramatic thriller reunites McKellen with writer-director Bill Condon, following their previous collaborations on the Oscar-winning biopic Gods and Monsters, the old Sherlock Holmes drama Mr. Holmes, and Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast (where McKellen portrayed Cogsworth). For their fourth movie together, the pair are adapting Nicholas Searle's novel about a seasoned con artist (McKellen) whose latest swindle takes a turn when he comes to care for his mark (Mirren).
Adapted for the screen by writer Jeffrey Hatcher (who also wrote Mr. Holmes), The Good Liar has the potential to be a rewarding genre film targeted at older audiences, and will reach theaters in the middle of November. The first trailer dropped back in July and focused heavily on McKellen and Mirren's characters getting to know one another in the real world, having previously interacted and met online. By comparison, the latest preview shifts its attention away from the character drama onto The Good Liar's mystery and thriller elements.
Warner Bros. has dropped a second trailer for The Good Liar online and may screen it with Joker in theaters, beginning this weekend. You can check it out, below.
The new trailer suggests that Mirren's character, Betty McLeish, might not be what she seems - or, failing that, is sitting on some big secrets of her own - and may very well be playing McKellen's conman, Roy Courtnay, and not vice versa. By the look of things, it's all part of the fun and The Good Liar is one of those cat and mouse thrillers that aims to keep audiences wondering whether anyone is what they claim to be, up until the final reveal. The trailer also hints at the film's larger themes, as Roy is shown admitting that he might be staying in the con game for the thrill of it all, rather than a need for money. This implies The Good Liar will be as much a story about aging (and lonely) people finding ways to feel alive again as it is a tale about a conman who may've finally bitten off more than he can chew.
Either way, The Good Liar continues to look promising, and might even provide a welcome break from the awards season contenders and tentpoles opening in November. It's admittedly facing a tough battle at the box office, seeing as the already-acclaimed Ford v. Ferrari (another drama targeted at older viewers) is set to arrive over the same weekend that month. Still, The Good Liar has a real shot at attracting a decent-sized crowd when it arrives, especially if the film's reviews are good. If nothing else, the chance to watch McKellen and Mirren go head to head is something movie buffs will have a hard time saying no to.
Source: Warner Bros. Pictures
Key Release Dates
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The Good Liar
Release Date:2019-11-15
