The Invention Of Lying

I am actually quite tired after a short work day. I spent the rainy afternoon at the bookstore relaxing and drinking a cup of mint tea with a wonderful friend and colleague of mine. (Just had to throw that word colleague in there, it sounded so professional and awesome.) After getting home, I sat down and eyed the columns of DVDs I have stacked in my living room around the already full shelf of more DVDs. I honestly have no idea why I have so many except I enjoy having them and being able to watch them whenever I want to. I have so many that I still haven't watched, so I kept glancing at those and decided on The Invention of Lying. I had had an acquaintance tell me the summary of it last year, and it made me curious. The plot is based around the idea of what if society had not evolved with the ability to lie. In the script, one man obtains the ability to lie. It sounded quite ingenious, and so I purchased it. Deciding it being a cloudy afternoon, I deemed it a good enough day to curl up and watch a "supposed" to be dry-humor film. The co-creator of the TV show The Office co-wrote, co-directed and starred in The Invention of Lying.

It does not start with the finesse and fine touches of a large budget Hollywood blockbuster, but instead has the quiet sense of an Indie film. The only two really famous actors are Jennifer Garner and Edward Norten. The plainness of the it gives the setting a nice sense of reality, without the glamour of a large Hollywood studio. I had been warned that the script was very crude, but I still hadn't prepared myself for the opening line to include the open confession of a woman masturbating. So, not only has society not developed the ability to lie, but neither has it developed the ability to discern what to say and what not to say. The whole movie continues this way. People are brutally honest about everything, down to a secretary correcting a misquotation about her boss, that, no she didn't call him gay, but a fat fatty fag. How charming, not to mention she makes this correction in front of her boss, and doesn't get in trouble for it! Can you imagine? Once past the initial shock however, the plot rolls out smoothly, about this loser, who is short, chubby, with a snub nose. He loses his job, and is about to become homeless, when suddenly he gains the ability to lie. He goes to the bank to withdraw the last of his money, $300. His months rent however, is $800. When at the bank, the teller asks how much he wants to withdraw, and in the space of a second, he tells her $800, instead of the $300 he really has. The teller of course has no way of knowing that this isn't true, because of course, no one is capable of telling a lie. So, she assumes it is a glitch in the computer system saying he only has $300 available in his account and gives him the requested $800. The movie continues this way, until finally he tells a lie so big, that the whole world ends up hearing about it.

So many films now try to be epic in every way, in that they are fast paced and keep the audience drawn in to a final climax. Every once in a while though, I come across quiet films like this that stays under the blockbuster radar and while it isn't epic, it is peppered with small touching gem-like moments to be cherished. One such moment is when the main antagonist finally convinces the beautiful woman to go on another date with him, and in the middle of the date, he gets a phone call that his mother is dying. He races to the hospital and while sitting with his mother, she tells him she is afraid. She begins to cry and tell him that after dying it's just an eternity of nothingness and she didn't even get to do everything she wanted to. He is so effected by seeing his mother slip away sadly, that he makes up a lie so that she dies happy and hopefully. He tells her that death isn't empty and that you go to a place of eternal happiness and everyone has a mansion. He even tells her all her loved ones will be there, and only love is there, no pain, ever again. I was surprised how sweet and gentle this moment came across in the middle of an excruciatingly honest script. It feels like the saving hug after years of enduring abuse. There are similar moments strung throughout the remainder of the movie.

I was impressed with the cleverness and the tied together themes worked into the plot. It may not have been a huge climatic story, but it had enough little climatic elements to make it worth watching. It was a fun and interesting idea about an non-evolved society of adulthood. I would recommend it for a more serious, thought provoking evening. And that is the honest truth.