Lying (2008)

I love this movie so much

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

It was bad, I agree. Some of the scenes could even be called ludicrous, especially the ghostly opera singer scene where the women all run around the house for ten minutes to try to find the singer. One moment they seem afraid and another they are laughing. I actually fast-forwarded that scene. The worst scene in the movie was the Semiphore Flag Signaling scene. Whahuu???? How about Megan saying to her brother "you said, 'I want pizza'" and insisting he'd said it. For what purpose? It made no sense. Maybe the movie should have been called 'Non Sequitur.' But there were some redeeming things: The scene where the neighbor Sarah comes to visit and its so obvious that Megan is trying to get her away from her guests and then Sarah asks Megan about her parents; you suddenly realize the deception. You're wondering why would this girl do this? And yet there are people out there (I've known at least one) who would say anything to get attention. It was good enough to watch all the way through with a little fast forwarding. The actors were very interesting in their performances.Here are two movies that are much worse: Sarah's Child and Isaac Asimov's "Darkness Falls" made into a movie in 1988 or something.... You couldn't give either of those a 1 out of 10.

After just 10 minutes, this film already felt like it was too long. After a half hour, I wanted Jigsaw or those Eastern European guys from Hostel to show up and start torturing people to death. After an hour, I was stupefied by the vacant nothingness pouring out of the screen. And when Lying at long, long, long last came to an end, the only emotion I could feel was aggravation at being 94 minutes closer to death with nothing at all to show for it.This movie was apparently filmed without a script...or at least I certainly hope it was. If there had been a script, it couldn't have been more than 20 pages long because Lying is about 10% dialog, 20% movement and 70% silence. If any of the cast had been able to read a screenplay in advance that told them how much time their characters would be standing mute, they probably would have found something better to do, like scrubbing their toilet bowls or rearranging their sock drawers.The story, if you can call it that, is about 5 women spending a weekend in the country. Four of them are in one big house and the fifth is in another big house across the way. The four lounge around like they've been drugged, play dress up and videotape the world's worst anti-hunger public service announcement. The fifth stands out in the yard waving semaphore flags around. One of the four tells some innocuous lies and when the other three find out, they drive back to the city. The end. Yeah. That's it. The end. I'm not being sarcastic. That really is it. Seriously. The end.For quite a while, I kept thinking there had to be some point to Lying. Surely, I thought, nothing could be this vacuous without a purpose. At first, I expected it to turn into a horror movie where the lying woman kills the other three. Then I hoped that maybe they'd all get naked or something. Finally, I was reduced to waiting for the camera to pull back and reveal the whole thing took place inside the snow globe of an autistic child. No such luck.Lying feels like it's made up of nothing but deleted scenes. If it were a 15 minute long film festival entry, it would be boring. At an hour and a half, it's practically anesthetizing. If you showed this movie to a small dog, it might go to sleep and never wake up. There's simply nothing going on here.I suppose the actresses here do fine enough work, though they might as well be portraying cigar store Indians for all there is to their characters. Non-writer/director M. Blash's use of a hand held camera also demonstrates that he's seen the jillion other movies shot with hand held cameras since the late 90s, though that appears to be the extent of his experience as a filmmaker. The movie is well lit, though this is the first time a film has ever been so lacking in any redeeming features that I've been reduced to praising the lighting.There's a lot of prejudice out there against so-called "art house" cinema. Nonsense like Lying is one of the main reasons it exists and is so prevalent. If you told someone this was good, not only would watching it probably sour them on "art house" films for the rest of their lives, that person likely wouldn't speak to you ever again. This thing fits the old joke that the only people who should ever see it are convicts on their way to the electric chair, because it will make their last moments seem like an eternity.In case I've been too cryptic, this movie is terrible. Don't ever look at it, even it someone else is paying.

Although I would like to say I have seen worse films than LYING, I cannot honestly say I have. There is no inkling of a plot, nor does the movie tie together in the end. Every moment is a question of "Are they going to murder each other; does she have a name; why does it matter if she's a pathological liar; when is it going to end?" For the most part, none of these questions are even answered. Instead, the films continues on and on, into what seems like eternity, and finally ends with no much as a summation, future events, or any other detail that would help a person understand why four women spent 3 days together drinking, exchanging awkward glances, and lying to each other about their histories. Maybe that is why the film is called LYING.

I recently had an opportunity to see "Lying" written and directed by M. Blash (What's with the M. btw). I was initially attracted to this film because of Chloe Sevigny, Jena Malone and Leele Sobieski, all of whom I'm a fan of and none of whom disappointed in this film. Lying is an effortlessly realistic depiction of what it would be like to go on vacation with three other people you hardly know. The "organic" conversations; sparse, almost awkward dialogue which shows how women interact with other women who are basically strangers. The tranquil countryside setting is so beautiful, and it is a perfect backdrop to the storyline.As a viewer, I felt like I was on the vacation with these women; drinking wine, eating home-cooked meals alfresco, and exploring the nature that surrounds the spectacular home that they are visiting.The cinematography is very well done. It is simple, yet elegant. The emphasis on the mundane; such as making coffee, truly makes this film appear that it is following some of the neo-realist aspects of film-making. The shots are well put together and thoroughly thought out. The use of natural light makes the movie really come to life. The rose colored sunsets, the bright yellow sunrises, etc.The performances are so understated, that they are completely realistic. Chloe Sevigny gives a truly magical performance as Megan. She floats through the scenes, breezing through the light conversations as if these were words that she would just be saying anyway. Her performance is utterly natural.At the end of the day, the film is about coming to know other people's intricacies. It is a slow-paced journey through a sublime weekend in the country.I would absolutely recommend this movie. It is the perfect summer film to watch while drinking a glass of wine and reclining on your chaise lounge.