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THE INVENTION OF LYING Ricky Gervais Matthew Robinson Starring Ricky Gervais Jennifer Garner Rob Lowe Louis C.K. It's Autumn! And do you know what that means? Time for deceptively good movies to be released on the backend of the summer pap with feel-good trailers that coax the masses in to witness a film that is actually pretty funking good. Not following? Ok, I'll explain. Summer releases and blockbusters are by-and-large solely designed to generate revenue. Autumn, however, is a magical time leading to award seasons, littered with absolutely riveting flicks that almost nobody would have thought to champion on the basis of the upbeat trailers alone. This particular example, The Invention Of Lying, is far from the most exemplary of pieces but it's still a step in the right direction. The concept itself is clever and the only apparent flaw is that the completely alien mindset may be lost on most audiences. From the opening credits we are introduced to a world in which no one can lie, simply because some genetic leap in this alternate reality has failed to occur. However, one of the key aspects is that people do not just the truth but absolutely everything that comes to mind simply because there's nothing else to talk about; there's no filter because there's never been any need to filter. To draw a parallel, on being asked, 'how are you?' most will respond, 'fine, thanks.' This is an absolute falsehood but it's an essential defence because nobody really cares, if we did, we probably wouldn't ask. So, in this world where the population is unable to filter their thoughts, the sole goal of coupling is to combine the perfect genetic matching for the purposes of procreation and obtain as much money as possible. As such, short, rotund forty-year old, Mark Bellison [Gervais] cannot get very far with his love life and his job as a screenwriter is somewhat stinted as acting is a form of lying and fiction doesn't exist. It is at this moment, at his lowest that his synapses fire and he says something that wasn't, an untruth... a lie. Having existed without a single piece of made-up information, everyone simply believes him at face value. As stated, the concept is actually well done and rather than analysing our society without lies it creates a long-standing history of a world that can't help but tell the truth. More importantly, it details the moral implications of fabricating the truth for personal gain. After a few attempts at lying to obtain money and power, Mark discovers that he's still unhappy. It's only in his mother's final moments that he tells his biggest 'lie' by reassuring her that when she dies she will be go to the happiest place imaginable and be reunited with all her friends. This is where the real weight of the film comes into play; essentially, Mark invents religion. As such, this film is going to be a bit controversial, not necessarily because of what is said but the perception that all religious beliefs are in fact lies. As a cynical git, I fully understood the concept of this satire: people are stupid. But the idea blossoms in such a way that's actually reasonably well thought out without - despite what most will end up claiming - being truly offensive. Despite this, there were three glaring problems that really failed to elevate this film to something better. Problem The First: the pace was so poorly conceived. After a decent opening and a keenly executed second act - that demonstrated the possibility for this stupid comedy to actually say something - we were treated to a flailing, meandering third act that dragged like nobody's business. Which brings me to Problem The Second: the ending was so hideously neat and convenient. It made perfect sense to end the way it did but after the floundering of the previous twenty minutes it just felt a tad rushed. And finally Problem The Third: the initial premise is a goldmine for humour and dramatic consequence and although this film didn't sink to the depths of most banal disposable comedies, it didn't exactly take advantage of every possible funny outcome - heavily contributing to points one and two. However, it was a rather original satirical piece and one that was executed with more skill than most and for that we should probably feel a certain amount of gratitude. Release Date: UK - 2nd October 2009 US - 2nd October 2009 The Scene To Look Out For: Two scenes for you, one good, one less good. We'll start with the stupid one first. After realising that lies can make people happy (in the short term at least) or more aptly, people will believe anything said by another individual as the very concept of creating something is beyond their mental capacity, Mark has a stupid little montage in which he wanders around whispering some perfectly crafted sentence that makes everyone fucking delighted. It pissed me off. So corny. On the other hand, we have the explanation/flashback of Mark's father caught mid-burglary. Fans of Extras will be greatly amused but more importantly is the fact that this scene directly explains why there is no crime. If you're caught, even once, you have no alibi and no way of weaselling out of it because the criminal is incapable of saying anything other than, "It's a fair cop, guv." Notable Characters: Balls to the characters, this film thrived on random cameos; they were brilliant. We have the jumpy, trigger-happy cop played by Ed Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman's barkeep, Mark's uptight, hateful assistant portrayed by Tina Fey, Jason Bateman as the insensitive doctor, Christopher Guest hidden beneath a white wig and 'tache to play one of the most renowned narrators, list goes on and each brings something genuinely amusing to the film. Highlighted Quote: "Side note, it's fajita night downstairs, so maybe you could go grab a bite to eat after your mum dies" In A Few Words: "Not the first film to let a brilliant concept go to waste but one of the only releases to still produce something of merit overall" Total Score: 
7/10Matthew Stogdon |
