Darkest of Lies (2023)

Darkest of Lies (2023). 1h 56m | Not Rated

“A story that only seems to come to life in the last few minutes, yet still remain unresolved.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA couple move from New York to Nevada for her job; he is an artist, so can work anywhere. He is an unconvincing military veteran; she an unconvincing lawyer. The new house is close to the home of her old friends, but his mental health degenerates and he becomes violently unstable.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe problem is that nothing is convincing. The script needs us to believe the couple love each other, despite what the obvious hatred in their actions. Intimate partner violence can make people do irrational things, but deliberately pressuring a mentally unstable person to drink wine still seems unlikely. A visitor to the house would have been able to announce his visit in advance, but turns up unexpectedly, excuses himself on the grounds he was told there would be someone home, then asks the male occupant to tell his partner of the visit, despite working in the same office as her.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI had the impression of incidents and dialogue being inserted to make the plot work, even when they jarred with other elements of story and characterisation. Themes – infidelity, u0026#39;bad energyu0026#39;, ghostly presence, PTSD – were picked up and dropped without going anywhere. The military history serves no purpose in the overall tale.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis kind of drama needs the audience to identify with, to root for, at least one character. With five to choose from, I could hardly care less about what happened to any of them. A mishit.”