The Good Lie
Reese Witherspoon
Arnold Oceng
Ger Duany
Emmanuel Jal
Corey Stoll
Sarah Baker
Kuoth Wiel
Margaret Nagle
110 mins.
Drama, History
October 3, 2014
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, some violence, brief strong language and drug use. (MPAA)
“The Good Lie” tells a compelling story, but Margaret Nagle’s script doesn’t always support it. At the beginning of the film, things move along point by point. It’s closer to a lesson than to a film. (There are moments later in the film that have the same quality, as well.) The events seem staged; there’s a lack of depth. One notable exception is the image of dead bodies floating downstream in a river that this film’s child refugees are trying to cross. “The Good Lie” needs more moments with that kind of power. (“Sarafina!” is a similar kind of film that works much better, but “Sarafina!” is an adaptation of a stage musical that was written by a South African; and its events stay within South Africa, instead bringing in an American perspective.)
The main culprit, as I mentioned before, is the writing; it’s underdeveloped. That lack of development doesn’t, in any way, support the African actors, many of whom lived through the Second Sudanese Civil War (The Lost Boys of Sudan). Those actors don’t seem to have much acting experience, so the script and, in some ways, director Philippe Falardeau have let them down. Falardeau mostly does what he can with the material, though. The only things supporting those actors is the tragic nature of the events in Sudan and their personal experiences.
Despite that, the story is affecting, regardless of how it’s presented. And once the African refugees arrive in the U.S., the clash of cultures gives the writer and director better focus. They handle that much better than the serious stuff that transpired beforehand. We see the refugees experiencing American food on the plane. They notice a couple kissing at JFK airport; it astonishes one of them, disgusts another. There’s a great moment when a man in a motorized wheelchair rides by them.
The American cast members have much more acting experience than their African counterparts. They also appear in the film when the material gets better. It’s still uneven, though. It still ventures into lesson territory. That’s unfortunate, especially since all of the actors – including a sharp-tongued Reese Witherspoon, who turns in another reliable performance – are committed to the film. They and the story itself deserve much better.
While “The Good Lie” has just enough to keep you watching, it could’ve been something special. As it is, it’s a decent, gently crafted film that doesn’t convey the full power of its subject matter. It cleans things up for a commercial audience. It’s a film that will likely move its audience, but it won’t stick with them. The audience may shed a tear, laugh, or crack a smile during the film; but how long will they think about the film afterward?
“The Good Lie” is simply too safe overall. It gives us nothing new.
Verdict: OK
About: (Source: thegoodlie)
They were known simply as “The Lost Boys.”
Orphaned by the brutal Civil war in Sudan that began in 1983, these young victims traveled as many as a thousand miles on foot in search of safety. Fifteen years later, a humanitarian effort would bring 3600 lost boys and girls to America.
In “The Good Lie,” Philippe Falardeau, (writer and director of the Oscar®- nominated Foreign Language film “Monsieur Lazhar”) brings the story of their survival and triumph to life. Academy Award® winner Reese Witherspoon (“Walk the Line”) stars alongside Sudanese actors Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal, and newcomer Nyakuoth Weil, many of whom were also children of war.
Mamere and Theo are sons of the Chief in their village in Southern Sudan. When an attack by the Northern militia destroys their home and kills their parents, eldest son Theo is forced to assume the role of Chief and lead a group of young survivors, including his sister Abital, away from harm. But the hostile, treacherous terrain has other dangers in store for them.
As the tattered group makes the difficult trek to Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, they meet other fleeing children, forging a bond with Jeremiah, who, at 13, is already a man of faith, and Paul, whose skills become essential to their survival.
Thirteen years later, the now young adults are given the opportunity to leave the camp and resettle in America. Upon arriving in Kansas, they are met by Carrie Davis (Witherspoon), an employment agency counselor who has been enlisted to help find them jobs—no easy task, when things like straws, light switches and telephones are brand new to them.
Although Carrie has successfully kept herself from any emotional entanglements, these refugees, who desperately require help navigating the 20th century and rebuilding their shattered lives, need just that. So Carrie embarks on her own unchartered territory, enlisting the help of her boss, Jack (Corey Stoll).
Together, against the backdrop of their shared losses, the Lost Boys and these unlikely strangers find humor in the clash of cultures, and heartbreak as well as hope in the challenges of life in America.
Along with Witherspoon, the film stars Corey Stoll (TV’s “House of Cards”); real-life Sudanese refugees Arnold Oceng (BBC’s “Grange Hill”) and newcomer Nyakuoth Wiel; Ger Duany (“I Heart Huckabees”) and rapper Emmanuel Jal, who were both former child soldiers and lost boys; and Femi Oguns (BBC’s “The Casualty”). Rounding out the cast are Sarah Baker as volunteer Pamela Lowi; Mike Pniewski as Mamere’s boss; and children of real-life Sudanese refugees Peterdeng Mongok, Okwar Jale, Thon Kueth, Beng Ajuet and Kejo Jale as the younger lost boys.
