True True Lie

"True True Lie" is an entertaining flick that draws its suspense from hidden/suppressed secrets. There's not a lot of action in the linear unfolding of events (until the end), but instead there are a lot of unanswered questions which we are forced to solve piece-by-piece through flashbacks and bits of dialogue.

Don't be put off by the opening scene which, with its exaggerated melodrama and unbelievable events, sets the tone as if this is a campy production. As we soon learn, the opening scene is a dream/delusion. Therefore it's intended to be surreal. I'm pointing this out because I almost walked out, thinking the movie would be unbearably cheezy, but I'm glad I stuck around.

What follows is an interesting unfolding of events, interspersed with more visions, that lead us to the logical conclusion of the film.

What really caught my attention was the way the film uses various literary allusions, from Poe's "Tell Tale Heart" to Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment" to Gide's "Crime without a Motive" and possibly more I missed. This film is like an homage to classic murder stories wrapped up in a tight bundle.

Another thing I found unique was the feminine perspective to a murder story. Sure we've had movies like "Basic Instinct" which highlight the female point of view, but those movies strike me more of a man's idea of a woman's perspective. Here we get a truly "chick flick" murder mystery. That might account for why IMDb users rate this film higher amongst women than men (except for the under 18 demographic, but hey what teenage male wouldn't be happy to see Jaime King's sexual ooziness in every scene?).

My criticism is that this movie feels more like a short film than a feature presentation. I guess that's because it moves so quickly and doesn't really spend much time fleshing out individual characters. In the second half we do get more characterization, and I really enjoyed the intense final scene. But I wouldn't have minded if the movie was at least 30mins longer.

20+ year old Nathalie (Jaime King) has been institutionalised for 12 years based on memories of a murder that according to the doctors was but a figment of her imagination, which drove her crazy. Mental pictures kill her sanity and reality tends be a blur. Nonetheless Dr Anthony (Jamie Durr) believe sufficient progress has been made and after such a long detention she is ready to be released.

With no family left to fall back on she is taken under the protective blanket of her former friends Dana (Lydia Leonard) and Paige (Annabelle Wallis). Both of whom participated in the true / false murder of a boy. Seemingly still haunted by images from the past Dana finds pleasure in sowing doubt and ultimately proves a catalyst for a new breakdown...

Insanity-addicted Jaime King proves a strong spring-board for the otherwise mediocre movie, when she moves in and out of various stages of mental lapses unable to focus on the truth at hand. She is accompanied by a strong, if somewhat over-the-top sexual-intense performance by Lydia Leonard, who oozes sex in every scene she is in. All in all the two strong leads pull the movie together, despite severely lacking in plot development (we, for instance, never find out the fate of the family or the plot involving the doctor as a love interest just petters out without resolve).

It must also be said that the build-up suggests some stronger resolution, but the whole movie reminds one of sexual foreplay, which doesn't end in fornication. By the end you are just left hanging surprised by the abrupt end, but at the same time satisfied by what was dealt out.

All in all a decent film, despite lighting issues and some rather poor back-story.

This appears to blatantly try to be a horror film that looks to the Transylvania genre, while not being about literal vampires.

I guess that from the location and the mood of the horror. The setting reminds me of descriptions of North East Romania, Moldavia. Really nice scenery, surprisingly nice buildings.

The soundtrack music is not listed in the end credits and it appears to have been added in England as post production. Mostly really nice and again echoing descriptions of Moldavia, for me, but I do not know how authentic that link is or even if it is intended.

I really prefer softer stories, such as Scream, but this still has a lot going for it.

The cast also includes some who are as cute as one might expect in a Transylvania genre feature. Boobs too. Predictably, much of the story involves tangling that cute, anything nice here is going to get messed up badly. This is much more scary than horror from the 1950's and 60's. This is not a feature that I will want to watch all that often, despite the cast including Yasmin Paige, who unfortunately is the young version of one of the cute and who is the only one who wears a low cut frock in true Transylvania horror tradition.

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Further than that, the horror is multiplied, for me, by it having some personal relevance.

The hospital is the Poe Institute. PR for the mental health industry does point out that metal health professionals are considered as worthwhile by many and the YA novel 'Am I Normal Yet?' by Holly Bourne is a quality example of that. This particular feature is a neat illustration of an opposing view that 50% or more who receive treatment are likely to consider it to be retrograde. A more complex example, compare the film and book versions of Girl Interrupted. I experience that film as an inversion of the book.

I am one who can really accept the view in True True Lie.

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For me this is a rather English sort of story, acceptable for Transylvania genre. It is an English production, filmed in Romania and tailored to the USA market. As a male to female I do not relate to many of the characters, mostly to the one with an eye problem, but that one is a male.

Great movie. Never thought Romanian actors and co-producers have anything to do with it till I saw the "Cast" list at the ending of the movie. Watched it because I didn't have anything else better to do ....and found out it really was worth it. There are many predictable scenes, but then again, after watching many movies...who doesn't know what happens next ? The plot was interesting though, the overall play was very nicely performed by the actors(and actresses...which by the way are looking very nice :) ). I definitely recommend it. It really isn't a waste of time and disappointing as many new blockbusters wannabe nowadays. Nice and simple, straight to the point...