Review: 'The Good Lie' starring Reese Witherspoon, Arnold Oceng, and Ger Duany

Admit it; when you first saw the trailers for The Good Lie the first thought that popped up was "Oh, it's another movie where the perfect white person saves the poor minorities". To that regard, the film is not as it would appear, and to play around with the title a little bit, the "good lie" is that it's completely about the four Sudanese refugees at the heart of the story. Sure, it's Reese Witherspoon whose face is plastered on all of the ads, but this film doesn't belong to her, and The Good Lie is all the better for it.

The immigrant experience is given a lighter, but still meaningful touch by Canadian director Philippe Falardeau, who tackled the issue in a different manner with his Oscar-nominated film, Monsieur Lazhar. The Good Lie deals with the Sudanese "Lost Boys", refugees who fled the civil war there and mostly wound up in refugee camps with nowhere else to go. Some were fortunate enough to earn a trip to America where foster families took them in, giving them a chance for a fresh start. The events of 9/11 shuttered that program, leaving many Sudanese families broken with little hope of reunion. It's with that backdrop we're introduced to six closely-tied Sudanese children, who witness the brutal execution of much of their village and are forced to trek hundreds of miles to a nearby camp. The long, dangerous journey reduces their number to four: Mamere (Arnold Oceng), Jeremiah (Ger Duany), Paul (Emmanuel Jal) and Mamere's sister Abital (Kuoth Wiel), all of whom bear the burden of responsibility carrying on their village's legacy.

Falardeau spares us the grim reality of war, but it weighs heavily on each character as they take part in the government's refugee program, and the situation only gets worse when Arbital is separated from the group. While the men are shipped off to Kansas City, Arbital is taken in by a family in Boston, leaving everyone angry and vowing to bring her home. The sadness of their plight would be overwhelming if the script by Margaret Nagle (Boardwalk Empire) didn't mix in a healthy dose of culture shock humor. Having learned much of the English language from the Bible, communication becomes a major problem. These are people who have lived in complete isolation from modern technology, spending much of their time trying to survive the ugliness of war, so it's not a surprise when an airplane or fast food restaurant thrown them for a loop. It's fairly conventional stuff told in a way that is easy to digest, a. Jello molds are a foreign concept to them, but so too are customs around women. Enter Witherspoon and her deep southern drawl as Carrie Davis, a sassy no-nonsense woman who must help the guys find jobs. They can't stay in the country without work, and Carrie throws her weight around to try and make sure it gets done.

“Who do I have to screw around here to see a goddamn immigration supervisor?” she barks, in her one moment that feels like it was torn straight from The Blind Side playbook. The others both revere her strength and pity her for being single because there may be lions out there, you know.

We know the arc of her story immediately. Within a few minutes her boss (Corey Stoll) tells her not to get too personally involved with these Sudanese refugees, but we already know she will. It's to the film's credit this never becomes her personal quest for redemption or anything irritating like that. This isn't The Blind Side or Million Dollar Arm where the minorities' stories are marginalized or forgotten completely. Witherspoon arrives to give the film a brassy boost when needed, and then slips easily into the background to let the leads take center stage. Falardeau brought in actors with a personal connection to the Sudanese crisis and that added touch makes all the difference. Oceng gives a soulful performance as Mamere, who struggles with survivor's guilt and the burden responsibility. Duany, who some may remember from David O. Russell's I Heart Huckabees, is the group's quiet stalwart, while Jal depicts the anger many of the Sudanese caught in an unfamiliar system must have felt.

Earnest and formulaic, The Good Lie is a sure bet to win over audiences looking for a feel-good story with a just enough real-world resonance. 

 Rating: 3 out of 5

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Reese Witherspoon Rescues Sudanese Refugees in Trailer for 'The Good Lie'

After years as America's sweetheart, even going so far as to win an Oscar for Walk the Line, Reese Witherspoon went through a time when she wasn't nearly as in demand. So she settled for bad roles in worse films like This Means War and How Do You Know (I can still taste the bile in my mouth from that one), and sortof fell off the map. But then she came storming back with a strong supporting role in Mud opposite Matthew McConaughey, and lately she seems to be aiming for another trip claim a golden statue. She recently took on a dramatic turn in Devil's Knot, and later this year she has the biopic Wild from director Jean-Marc Vallee (Dallas Buyers Club), but she also has the Sudanese rufugee drama, The Good Lie, which many may not have heard of.

And there may be a reason why there's been so little attention placed on the film as the trailer is an insufferable, overbearing mess that is bound to stir up some racial controversy. Directed by Philippe Falardeau (Monsieur Lazhar), the fact-based account centers on a feisty, single American woman who takes in a trio of Sudanese refugees (known as "The Lost Boys of Sudan") as they move to the United States. It probably says a lot this is touted as being from the people behind The Blind Side, another film about a brash white woman who came to the rescue of a downtrodden minority, and if that film was less-than-subtle then The Good Lie seems to be even worse. It would be one thing if the story was told from their POV but that's obviously not going to be the case.

Also starring Corey Stoll, Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal, Nyakuoth Weil, and Sarah Baker, The Good Lie opens October 3rd.


The Good Lie Official Trailer (2014) Reese Witherspoon, Drama Movie HD by NewTrailers BOS

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