Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Movie review - "Brilliant Lies" (1996) ***1/2

 Very expert version of a strong play. Didn't do much at the box office - maybe it was more telemovie material by then. There was Disclosure I know but that had the stars and a best selling novel.

The cast is excellent. Gia Carides is an ideal David Williamson female: sexpot, aggressive, loves middle aged men, lives off men. She's supported well by her sister Zoe and Anthony La Paglia looking trim and terrific. Michael Veitch is superb and touching as the Christian brother, Ray Barrett very good as the dad, and Neil Melville gives typically strong support.

La Paglia possibly plays his part too one note - all angry scowling - when a little more variation might've been more interesting. The wailing that "I'm a middle class straight white man the world is against me" is depressingly still relevant in 2022.

The direction is matter of fact rather than flashy. Lots of talk. Flashback sequences are perfunctory - maybe they should've shown the actual scenes played out. The family scenes are warm and well done (some critics carped the characters were unlikable but I don't think so... they're all funny and Zoe Carides and Michael Veitch are moralistic). The humour is sharp The theme of lying is expertly explored. But still... it's a TV movie.

I always felt they should've tweaked it so Catherine Wilkins was gay and hooked up with Zoe Carides.

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