This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
All's Fair in Love and War
Plot Overview
Mark Twain once said, “There
are three kinds of liars: liars, damn liars, and statisticians.”
London, 2009. Octogenarian, online dating couple: old school
Betty McLeish (Helen Mirren) and gentleman Roy Courtnay (Ian
McKellan) fit the first category in their profiles; they fudge a little
on their specs. Everybody does it. Roy has a side business of
an investment group where he's not averse to using a bookkeeper
Vincent (Jim Carter) to lure investors in with inflated promises of getting
rich quick. Mark Twain had a word about him, too. But it's that second
category, the good damn liars, that makes up the core of this plot.
I once had an old, widowed landlady who lived a humdrum life. One day out of the blue appeared in our kitchen a flamboyant Hungarian chef who wanted to cook us steaks. Great, I thought, I've found an interesting subject to try my new Pentax camera on. But I swear, that guy seriously did not want to have his picture took.
It wasn't many days hence that my landlady confided that this guy wanted to marry her. She inquired of the police to find out that he had a long record of marrying rich widows and then absconding with all their money. He had ties to the mob. She avoided that trap and sent him packing. Nobody had a picture of him, except I had one in poor light.
In TGL one of Roy's disgruntled investors spots him on the street and pursues him into the underground. Coming to the end of an empty platform, Roy nonchalantly uses his umbrella to tip up a security camera—London is rife with them—so it won't capture the coming action. I'm thinking Hungarian chef; here is a guy who seriously doesn't want to be in pictures. That's all I'm going to say.
Ideology
A genuinely evil person is likely to have it catch up with him sooner or later. (Prov. 5:22-23) “His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.” No big surprise there.
It's generally not a good idea to give someone else, stranger or friend, control of your money.(Prov. 6:1-3) “My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.”
If somehow you get into that situation, go make sure of your friendship so your pal doesn't forget it's your money and spend it. (Prov. 6:4-5) “Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.” To the hunter that deer is fair game and to the fowler so is the bird. They'll want to dispatch them right quick. You might be able to escape if you take fast action before your money is done gone.
Production Values
“” (2019) was directed by Bill Condon. It was written by Jeffrey Hatcher and based on a novel by Nicholas Searle. It stars Helen Mirren, Ian McKellen, and Russell Tovey. The two main actors did good justice to the script. The film was peopled by good acting wherever it expanded its perspective.
MPAA rated it R for some strong violence, and for language and brief nudity. The writing is passable with a little cheese. The direction is adept, with flashbacks fleshing out the story.
Review Conclusion w/ Christian Recommendation
I liked the ambitious story using the past to understand the present. The characters were a real study. I suggest one reserve judgment until the end. It's more or less what someone wise in the world would expect, probably a certain amount of comeuppance for lying and being bad.
Movie Ratings
Action factor: Well done action scenes. Suitability For Children: Not Suitable for Children of Any Age. Special effects: Well done special effects. Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day. Suspense: Keeps you on the edge of your seat. Overall movie rating: Four stars out of five.
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