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The Good Lie Movie Review

The Good Lie is a 2014 drama film directed by Philippe Falardeau and starring Reese Witherspoon. It’s a wonderful, inspirational movie that was one of the most underrated films of its year.

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“If you want to go fast, go alone.

If you want to go far, go together“

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A group of Sudanese refugees, given the chance to resettle in America, arrive in Kansas City, Missouri, where their encounter with an employment agency counselor forever changes all of their lives. Set during the Second Sudanese Civil War, this movie only touched upon the many horrors that happened during this period in what are now two countries. But an American film shedding light on an African war in and of itself is remarkably rare, thus it needs to be appreciated.

Philippe Falardeau is a French-Canadian director most famous for his Oscar-nominated movie ‘Monsieur Lazhar’. That film had a similar subject matter, but it was much less memorable and emotionally affecting. It’s rare for a director to improve his work when shifting to American filmmaking, but this director did that as he was always more suited for inspirational, crowd-pleasing melodramas that the US is famous for.

Reese Witherspoon had a truly remarkable year in 2014 with this film and her Oscar-nominated turn in ‘Wild’. Yes, casting such a famous actress in this understated, smaller drama may seem problematic at first, but I eventually came to fully appreciate this casting choice as it only further emphasized the huge cultural differences between these Sudanese refuges and this American agency counselor.

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Many of the movie’s best and most delightful moments happened during the refugees’ delightful encounters with Witherspoon’s character. On the surface, these comedic bits with the characters not knowing how to use a phone for instance may seem familiar, but they are executed with such warmth and a big heart that I did buy most of them.

The Good Lie obviously isn’t as realistic or as heartbreaking as you’d expect from this subject matter, but it was still a lovely choice to bring optimism and inspiration to what otherwise would have been a very gloomy film. The ending was quite moving and so many sequences in the second half made me smile how sweet they were.

This is one of those films that develops its characters properly, thus making you care for them and making you root for them to find happiness in this foreign country. That’s why it wasn’t emotionally manipulative or hollow to me, but actually rewarding and powerful. Of the refugee characters, Ger Duany and Arnold Oceng as Jeremiah and Mamere were the best performed and developed of the bunch. Their relationship was quite complex and very believable.

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The Good Lie could have turned into what some would call a white savior trope, but what I would categorize as an American savior trope. Thankfully, it evaded that due to the involvement of a foreign director and thanks to the script that actually respects its African characters without ever sidelining them. Yes, Witherspoon is in a lot of this movie, but she was still a supporting player in this ensemble, which was wonderful to witness. As for the technical aspects, they were serviceable without ever being truly cinematic or memorable in any way.