Good Lie, The (2014) [Blu-ray]
Drama

Academy Award-winner Reese Witherspoon joins an incredible ensemble cast of Sudanese actors in the film critics are calling " a deeply touching story about survival perseverance and hope. In 1983, orphan of the civil war in Sudan, known as The Lost Boys, traveled nearly a thousand miles on foot, enduring unspeakable circumstances in search of refuge. Over a decade later, a humanitarian effort would bring thousands of these survivors to America. The Good Lie is the uplifting, true-to-life tale of our friends' journey from their devastated homeland to the foreign world that is modern America, and the people who help empower them to begin again.

Storyline: Sudanese refugees given the chance to resettle in America arrive in Kansas City, Missouri. where their encounter with an employment agency counselor forever changes all of their lives.

Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Kenneth Brown, January 22, 2015 -- Uprooted, displaced and orphaned during the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005), more than 20,000 boys fled their homes in Sudan. They were the lucky ones. Millions of their people were slaughtered. Millions more were scattered across Africa. Over the next ten years, these 20,000 children, dubbed "The Lost Boys of Sudan" by relief workers, encountered countless hardships as they traveled thousands of miles, from Ethiopia (where they were caught in the middle of yet another war) to Kenya and eventually, for some, the United States. In 2000, with the assistance of the UNHCR and the U.S. State Department, some 3,600 boys and girls were selected via lottery and relocated to several large American cities, among them San Diego, Boston, Dallas, Atlanta and Seattle. But many of these children were no longer children. Because adoption and foster care weren't a viable option, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) worked tirelessly to secure the adult Lost Boys jobs, education and homes, all of which presented a variety of challenges.

The Good Lie makes a noble, almost entirely successful attempt to tell one of the many stories of these Lost Boys, going so far as to cast real-life refugees Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal and Kuoth Wiel. Director Philippe Falardeau and screenwriter Margaret Nagle even avoid the missteps of movies like The Blind Side, presenting the African refugees as the clear leads of the film (both during their childhoods and during their immigration to the U.S.) rather than thrusting Reese Witherspoon and Corey Stoll into a contrived, all too Caucasian spotlight. (Not that you'd ever, ever know it from The Good Lie's trailers.) Refreshing? Absolutely. But sadly, quite surprising as well. Hollywood doesn't generally slap Reese Witherspoon on a movie poster then keep her off screen for long stretches of time. (Kudos to producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer for supporting the filmmakers on this point.) That doesn't mean Hollywood doesn't wriggle its way into the production -- sentimentality is out in force -- although in this case it isn't too irritating. The tear-jerking portions of the script are as heartwarming as the tough-to-stomach sections are heartbreaking, and in that balance is a drama worth praising, flaws and all.

Mamere (Peterdeng Mongok) and Theo (Okwar Jale) are sons of the Chief in their village in Southern Sudan. When an attack by the Northern militia destroys their home and kills their parents, eldest son Theo is forced to assume the role of Chief and lead a group of young survivors, including his sister Abital (Keji Jale), away from harm. But the hostile, treacherous terrain has other dangers in store for them. As the tattered group makes the difficult trek to Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, they meet other fleeing children, forging a bond with Jeremiah (Thon Kueth), who, at 13, is already a man of faith, and Paul (Deng Ajuet), whose skills become essential to their survival. Thirteen years later, Mamere (Oceng), Jeremiah (Duany) and Paul (Jal) are given the opportunity to leave the camp and resettle in America. In Kansas they meet Carrie Davis (Witherspoon), an employment agency counselor, and her boss, Jack (Stoll), who work to place the men in jobs; no easy task when things like light switches and telephones are brand new to them.

The performances are a bit hit or miss, with Oceng, Duany and Jal exhibiting excellent chemistry but mixed results when it comes to emoting and selling the "now" of their predicaments. There's no doubt they have firsthand experience with the circumstances their characters are facing, but relating and capturing are too very different things. Still, there are moments of genuine heartache -- real tears, real pain, real loss -- making it that much easier to overlook any shortcomings. Witherspoon's time on screen is trickier, to the point that it often feels as if there's a whole other movie playing elsewhere, in a separate theater down the hall. I fully appreciate the focus granted to the Lost Boys' story, and would have it no other way, but Witherspoon's role could have and should have been drastically simplified. As is, an entire arc is tackled across brief segments that aren't exactly cohesive. Where Carrie begins and ends are wildly different, and the leaps in her outlook and approach lurch from detached to invested too quickly and too jarringly. Stoll is more stable, but then Jack isn't given as many hurdles to jump. Both gladly shrink into the background anytime their co-stars are on screen, though. Ego doesn't fuel any of the performances in The Good Lie. Just empathy, compassion and awe.

Nagle's script is a touch uneven too. It's by no means broken, but a riveting first act and absorbing second give way to a wholly conventional third, as if Nagle suddenly remembered Mom-n-Pop America needs to leave the theater feeling A-Okay. I don't help refugees, but we have people who do. USA! USA! USA! There's a sense that The Good Lie isn't sure where to wrap up, other than to assure its audience there's a happy ending after all. But as a human story, there's resonance here -- timeliness even -- that elevates the material and further highlights just how unique the film is among feel-good dramas of its ilk. Falardeau doesn't flinch (other than reasonably, when his PG-13 rating demands) and everyone on board obviously wants to be as honest and sincere in the telling as possible. The Good Lie could have been pure, saccharine garbage, feigning warmth but really angling to showcase Witherspoon's Carrie and her journey in helping the helpless. Instead, it's what movies of these sort should be. Perfect, no. Inspired, without a doubt. Falardeau and Nagle trust that the story of the Lost Boys is powerful enough in its own right, and in that regard, they couldn't be more insightful.

The Good Lie means well and, at least for once, that's not such a bad thing. Key word: such. Despite the refreshing boldness of placing the Lost Boys front and center, rather than shoving Witherspoon and Stoll into the spotlight, the film's flaws can still be frustrating. Not enough to make the story any less moving or the characters and their plight any less compelling, but it's not hard to imagine what The Good Lie might have been like if it weren't so concerned with tying up its tale in a neat, tidy Hollywood bow. No matter. The film is still worth watching, the Blu-ray's AV presentation is excellent, and only its slim supplemental package really disappoints.

[CSW] -3.2- A good mixture of comedy and drama. It definitely makes you feel grateful for all the abundance we have here - there is a very sobering scene where the refugees cannot believe that the supermarket throws away food. Definitely a feel-good and a bit of a tear-jerker film with the twist of showing the innate magnanimous and caring nature of the Sudanese refugees. Also some of the African cinematography is gorgeous. This is definitely worth a watch.
[V4.0-A4.0] MPEG-4 AVC - No D-Box.


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