Lying

I will try to be gentle here . . .

Have worse movies ever been created in all of known human history? Possibly, but as a sort of comparative reference, the all time "worst movie ever" classic - Plan 9 from Outer Space - could be rated as a seriously produced example of fine filmcraft.

This film Lying is so odd, completely lifeless, thrown together attempt at something possibly resembling a plot, that it deserves its own rating category.

Not only is the film itself beyond ridiculously awful, but on the DVD there is the added "interview" with the director, conducted with such serious, way over the top pretentious self absorbed pseudo importance supposedly associated with this production.

This is the extreme outer edge of unintended comedy . . . a Monty Pythonesque parody - only this was actually intended as a serious interview.

The rating category of 1 (awful) isn't low enough to actually represent the rating of this pathetic non-entity attempt of filmcraft.

I would suggest less than zero, perhaps somewhere between -3 to -5.

The one positive thing I could say for this film? It could be a good cure for insomnia . . .

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.

Even though the movie has an intriguing start it ends nowhere. Megan is setting up for the arrival of her friends, moving the furniture, hiding things, putting things away, etc. She brings boxes filled with dolls and the movie spends a ridiculous amount of time placing the dolls all over the front yard. Many small details are scattered around during this first part. The point is that when the girls come, all of this material just got wasted. The dialog is nonsensical, so are the actions and the plot. The only thing that made me watch me till the end is to see wheather or not the movie was going to bring the clues together. It did not. At the end, when the lights came on the whole audience in the room sighed in with relief and was happy to leave. My suggestion is: spare yourself 90 mins of your life, I almost see every movie that comes out and am able to pick the good points no matter how small they are out of every movie. In this one there's none.

OK. I'm watching this film right now and it is nearly over. I couldn't stand it any more and HAD to look and see what others thought of the film, because I just wasn't getting it.

But it turns out there is NOTHING to get! I would love to talk to someone who loved this film. What did you love? Specifically, what about this film made you rate it high? My suspicion is that a good percentage of lovers of this film could NOT tell you why. I suspect they liked the film because they were "supposed" to like it. You know?

The movie is called Lying. We the audience don't know what the lie is for a long time. I'm still not sure and the film is almost over. One woman is apparently deceiving the other three she's invited to her "country home" for the weekend. Now it's one thing for the audience to be in the position of the three girls; not knowing. But even when the girls figure out the lie it's STILL not clear what it is.

And if it's what I think it is.... well, so what?

The movie is beautifully shot. The house it takes place in is marvelous. I want to build a house just like it. The acting is good. And, it's got cool, hip and beautiful Chloe Sevign. But don't pretend to like this movie just because you don't get it, but think you should. Let all the bad reviews give you permission to be honest. And honestly, this movie is a waste of time.

I just saw this film at Cannes film festival. The fact that Chloe Sevigny was in it propelled me to go, as she usually appears in above average films. However this film is so bad I can't begin to describe why. It even got booed in the screening room. Saying this, I still think this film is worth seeing, if only to provide you with a film to place at the bottom of your movie lists, or to just give you an insight into the elements of bad film.

I have to say that the cinematography is good, as are the performances, there is just no substance. Another successful part is how the film somehow made me believe something good was going to happen around every corner, even up until the credits, (but I can assure you nothing did).

Overall I simply think that this film is trying to be too arty and too out there, and it just crosses the line.