Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Review of THE GOOD LIE: Affecting Authenticity

August 3, 2015



In the 1980s there was a major civil war in the Sudan causing several children to lose their families. Left on their own devices, these kids had to travel hundreds of miles in order to reach safe haven beyond the border. This film follows the story of one such set of displaced and orphaned children, dubbed by aid workers and media as "The Lost Boys of Sudan". 

After their eldest brother Theo sacrificed himself to be captured by soldiers, Mamere and his sister Abital were able to reach the refugee camp in Kenya on their own, together with another set of brothers they met along the way, Jeremiah and Paul. Several years later, all four of them, now young adults, were luckily picked to be among those to be relocated to the United States. 

In Kansas City, Missouri, the boys met employment counselor Carrie Davis, who helped them settle in their new home and find jobs. There, they discovered not only new comforts of life and new opportunities, but also new challenges they had to face. While Mamere worked hard to go to medical school, he constantly worried about his sister Abital who was separated from him at the airport and sent to live in Boston with a foster family. Deeper down, he also continued to be haunted by the sacrifice his brother Theo did for them to live.

Reese Witherspoon gets top billing, but she is not the main character of the film at all. Her Carrie goes out of her way to help the Sudanese boys get settled into their new lives. She helps them solve various problems by pulling some bureaucratic strings. But it is still the boys themselves, particularly Mamere, who make the big decisions in their lives. Despite her star status, Witherspoon never drew attention to herself in this role. She gracefully gives her African co-stars the spotlight they deserved.

Arnold Oceng plays the lead character Mamere with dignified restraint. It is his performance upon which the whole movie revolved around. He was able to gain our sympathy towards his plight and the various demons he had to face. The actors who played Abital (a radiant Kuoth Wiel), Jeremiah (Ger Duany) and Paul (Emmanuel Jal) all suffered through the Sudanese Civil War in real life, thus accounting for the affecting authenticity in their performances. The young actors who played these characters as child refugees were similarly very effective in their portrayals. 

Honestly I was not too excited to see this film thinking it would be another one of those "White Savior" films like "The Blind Side" or "Dangerous Minds", where a white man saves a poor person of color out of his miserable condition. At the end though, my fears were unfounded. This turned out to be quite engaging despite its very serious topic. 

Aside from some awkward moment of humor in the middle as the brothers were adjusting to American life which felt forced, the rest of the film with its theme of brotherly devotion was heartwarming and inspirational. While its overwhelming positivity is wonderful, it may also be seen by some as its main drawback. 7/10.


20 comments:

  1. I have a,ways been a big Reese fan. This movie seems like the sort I would enjoy watching - how s it compare to, for example, Blood Diamond?

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    1. This is not anything like Blood Diamond. A big part of this movie is set in the US where the refugees are relocated. Reese Witherspoon's character never leaves the US at all.

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  2. I heard about this movie! Been a Reese fan too. :)

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  3. Upon reading the review, the story is so sad. If I watch this, I will surely cry.

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  4. Reese Witherspoon has indeed grown as a great actress. From Legally Blonde to this movie, the intensity is just way far from each other. Though not really a fan of this kind of movie, my dad would definitely like this.

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  5. It seems like an emotional movie and Reese is a fine actress. So quite a worth watch.

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  6. Nice! Thanks for giving me a good movie to watch with my mom for movie night this weekend. Definitely something to look forward to since it's also about building a life.

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  7. looking at the poster, one would immediately think that Reese is the main character of the story, It would have been much better to see a bigger photo of the four main characters. Anyway, it's great to see Reese in more heart wrenching movies like this one.

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  8. Do you think this film will qualify for the Oscars? Just asking. The last movie of Reese Witherspoon that I watched was Hot Pursuit where she played the character of a cop.

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  9. I don't think my heart can take this movie. Civil war and refugees just makes me sad, I remember getting traumatized watching The Constant Gardener and Saving Private Ryan. I think I'm sticking with action movies without the heavy drama. Thanks for the review though!

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  10. It would be good to follow how they adjust to life in the US. It's also nice that we get to see how brotherhood would play around in this struggle.

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  11. Adjusting life in far away place is just like a newborn baby. Sometimes, your life depends on what you perceive with others. Nice review indeed!

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  12. So I guess the film is not really a tear jerker other than the brother sacrificing himself? Did they say the brother die in the end? Because you put captured but not killed.

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    1. You have to watch the movie to find out. Hehe. No spoilers here. :-)

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  13. I'd love to watch this. I am more into feel good movies. I'd have to say this awakened my curiosity. :D

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  14. i would want to watch this! i love reese witherspoon

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  15. Another movie that never heard about. Thanks for the review.

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  16. Thanks for the review. I am a big fan of Reese. Pick to be relocated to the US. that's seems a nice plot to find what's up for these 4 individuals.

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  17. I love Reese. I find all her films interesdting and shes really a good actress. Drama and comedy is her forte

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  18. I think I am going to skip The Good Lie, quite boring and there is no intensity or uniqueness in the storyline.

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