Le suspect idéal

There are two reasons to see Deceiver - one is for the great performance from the always-superb Tim Roth, and the second is for the superb performance from the always-great Tim Roth. In all fairness, the two detectives and Renee Zellweger were excellent as well. The story is convoluted in a way but sometimes that's not really a bad thing, if the convoluted-ness is done in a creative fashion, as it is here. I have to say that I saw the ending coming about three-fourths of the way through, but it was still very engrossing nonetheless, the kind of film that leaves you nodding with a satisfied smirk on your face at the end because you DID figure it out, and sometimes that's not a bad thing either.

Somehow this hidden treasure had escaped my radar until now. As usual Tim Roth does not disappoint. The accused characters mentally abused by his disconnected parents, epilepsy and absinthe addicted personality seems custom written for Roth. In truth, few other actors could have pulled that off. There are stories within stories here and the movie holds your attention throughout. A modern day noir with a great surprise ending. Two powerhouse actresses, Patricia Arquette and Renee Zellwegger were under utilized in this film. Chris Penn gives an adequate performance as the junior and somewhat less intelligent assistant detective, but his ignorance is not as great as the audience is made to think. I was a little surprised by the relatively low 6.4 rating. This film deserves much better. Well worth your time.

An epileptic man takes a lie detector test to prove he had nothing to do with the death of a stripper. During the test, the private lives of the investigators comes to light due to an investigation by the investigated man. This causes the case to take a strange turn. The film flashed back and forth in time showing the cheap tawdry lives of all involved in the bizarre circumstances. Great story and fascinating dialogue kept me on the edge of my seat all the way through. 4 stars.

It isn't too hard to understand why this movie wasn't a great success at the box office. Most people expect to see an average Hollywood version of a cop movie and they will be very disappointed when seeing this one. No, it isn't about the good cop chasing the bad guys, making a beautiful little hole in the forehead of everyone that doesn't obey the law. This movie is much more subtle and probably a lot harder to understand for a lot of people.

In fact, the whole movie is created around only three actors. But not just three actors, we are talking about Chris Penn, Tim Roth and Michael Rooker, who all did an excellent job. Trust me, never have I been more fascinated by three men in a darkened room, pushing each other to their mental and physical limits.

This is how the story goes: A prostitute has been murdered and there is one suspect. He's an extremely intelligent, epileptic alcoholic who is able to deceive everybody, even the polygraph. His investigators try to make him confess the murder by playing little mind games, only to see that he outsmarts them time after time.

The dialogs are fascinating, the use of flashbacks very interesting. Add some tense interrogation scenes with a lot of psychological war fare and a huge plot twist at the end of the movie and you know you have something special. I guess those psychological games will not be understood by everybody, but you'll love it if you are intelligent enough to understand them. I know I did and I give this movie an 8/10.

Deceiver (AKA: Liar) is directed and written by Jonas and Josh Pate. It stars Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Michael Rooker, Ellen Burstyn, Renée Zellweger and Rosanna Arquette. Music is by Harry Gregson-Williams and cinematography by Bill Butler.

The gruesome murder of a prostitute finds chief suspect James Wayland (Roth) in an interrogation room undergoing a lie detector test. Two detectives, Phillip Braxton (Penn) and Edward Kennesaw (Rooker), are overseeing the test and sure of Wayland's guilt. But they are soon to find that Wayland is no push over and as the mind games start, dark secrets begin to come into play...

Without doubt it's an acquired taste, met with indifference upon its release and still causing debates on internet forums, Deceiver is one of those films that infuriates and fascinates in equal measure. As the title of the film suggests, deception and untruths are the order of the day here, not just in the claustrophobic interrogation room, but also in how the brothers Pate toy with us the audience. With its reliance on a non linear structure and convoluted plot, focusing the attention is greatly required, especially since the use of a rug-pull device will either seal or kill the deal.

As the walls close in on the interrogation room sequences and the flashbacks and character subplots flit in and out of the tale, the Pate brothers bring striking photography and angles into play. Sometimes it's a POV camera technique that has an edginess that seems to be probing for a crack in the armour of the person it looks at, at other instances it's distorted backdrops that run concurrently with the psychological chaos buzzing around the sweat tinged room. While the dialogue the characters are given crackles with the hard-boiled intensity that graced many a 40s and 50s noir thriller.

With a trio of superb lead male performances leading the way and a narrative loaded with duplicity and deviousness, Deceiver is crackerjack neo-noir. It's guilty of excess at times, and it's not hard to understand why some find the trickery too much to bare, but for those who like labyrinthine crime thrillers then this hits the spot. In fact! Repeat viewing is very much recommended. 8/10