Bill Condon, writer/director of Gods and Monsters reunites with Sir Ian McKellen to tell the tale of an aging ruthless con man, Roy, out to swindle a naïve wealth woman, Betty played by Dame Helen Mirren, of her life savings. The movie also star Jim Carter as Vincent Roy’s confidence game partner and Russel Tovey as the woman’s suspicious and protect grandson.

The previews give away one of the movie’s principal twists, that this mark, Betty is not the easy target she appears to be, and a game of cat and mouse develops between the two leads. However, this is not the structure of the film and that bit on the trailers, while effective in selling the movie, uncut what little dramatic tension the film displays.

And that is the movie’s glaring weakness a lack of dramatic tension driving the narrative forward. Rotten Tomatoes critic’s score is currently sitting at 64 percent and honestly that feels about right. Populated with extremely talents actors and competently directed by Condon The Good Liar is watchable but due to the lack of tension it ultimately feels a little empty.

Dramatic tension happens when you have a character with an objective, obstacles that hinder the character in achieving their objective, and a cost of failure. The Good Liar is told solely from the point of view of Ian McKellen’s Roy and instead of a game of hunter and prey switching roles back and forth as Roy claims victories and suffers defeats we instead follow him through the plot as he lays out his trap for Betty and his small fortune. This is problematic story telling for two reasons, first off because Roy suffers no reversal and no serious opposition to his con there is little dramatic tension to keep the audience engaged. Second and just as important, Roy is not a charming rogue, a loveable con man he is a ruthless swindler sociopathic is his lack of concern for the pain and suffer he causes. Most people’s sympathies are not going to be for Roy and that can be lethal for your point of view character. Even the character Walter Neff from the classic noir Double Indemnity expressed remorse and guilt over his crimes as he commits them but being enslaved by his passion Walter is unable to turn away from his doomed path. Roy is not passionate, he is cold, calculating and devoid of feeling for anyone but himself. This combined with the lack of obstacles critically undermines what should have been a great neo-noir.