The Good Liar * * ½

       Director Bill Condon likes working with actor Ian McKellen.  Together, with screenwriter Jeffrey Hatcher, they did Mr.Holmes.  A film which I found rather irritating.  I'm afraid this one has had the same effect on me.
       It's so much work and so much explanation to tell such a silly story.

Helen and Ian In a film that's on the nose

       It starts off well enough.  He's an old con-man, truly adept at his craft.   A combination which makes us both excited and disgusted. He picks his targets well and soon focuses on a sweet widow (Helen Mirren) who has a few million tucked away and is ripe for the picking.  That things will turn-around is as obvious as the nose on their respective faces - and Ian and Helen have quite distinct noses.
       After that it's just a case of going through the tedium rather than the excitement. The back-story issued toward the end - where we are sent back sixty years - is ridiculous, but it pales compared to the explanation of how this happened and how that happened blah blah....
      It looks good though.  It's got some well acted scenes and some fine photography, shame about the stupid story.