Real Lies (2014) User Reviews (2)

Superficial laughs

[ghoule-582-207091 · 4/10 · 19 March 2015]

I have really enjoyed getting into this movie. Somehow, I was sucked into the movie from the beginning, laughing often... until I realized the script only delivered gags on a machine gun level, superficially that is.

« Le vrai du faux » (Real Lies) feels like a dumb humorist show : you gather a lot of stereotypes together, slam them on psychotic and nerve-racked characters and let them boil together on a story's string as improbable as silly.

Sure, Gaudreault knows how to deliver : you have rarely the time to get bored... which is the same as eating fast-food : you first enjoy eating it, then feel shallow and, finally, regret having succumbed to bad food.

The thing is you never know what Gaudreault (or writer Pierre-Michel Tremblay) really thinks, because all of the characters are played like cartoons. Is the movie against war, ecologists, capitalism, psychologists? You never know. All themes are played against each other, which results in a ideological vacuum.

Of course, if you are in just for the laughs, you might be entertained... if you are not upset by all the lies and false contradictions the movie pretends some categories of people to have.

For my part, I was disappointed a lot by some of the clichés, and would like to rectify two things : 1. Heavy metal does not sound like the hardcore noise we hear in the movie, 2. I doubt real-life green leftists act like the insensible moron we see in Real Lies, 3. There is no "War against War" movement in Québec. You can hate pacifists - the kind of which worked to prevent WWI and many other wars - if you want, but please do not create false contradictions.

An underrated clever entertainment

[info-1405 · 7/10 · 6 March 2016]

I didn't expect much from LE VRAI DU FAUX considering the lack of positive feedback from the critics and the viewers as well, at least on the IMDb. Moreover, I didn't really enjoy some of previous box office hits by director Emile Gaudreault.

So what a nice surprise to discover a Quebec movie which is actually a comedy- drama, offering a perfect balance between entertainment and psychological insight. I laughed often but also felt concerned with the more serious issues of this story about a successful filmmaker who want to redeem himself by helping a soldier suffering from a post-trauma syndrome. The acting, the cinematography, the editing (pacing) and all the other technical and artistic components of the movie are top-notch. Stephane Rousseau proves again that he is much more than a brilliant stand-up comic. Julie Le Breton is perfect as the psychologist who cares for her patient while she has to face her own personal problems. Guylaine Tremblay is amazingly funny and touching at times as the tormented mother.

All in all I spent a real good time watching LE VRAI DU FAUX and do not hesitate to recommend it to everyone who is familiar enough with Quebec language and cultural context.