Clemmie Judges

THE INVENTION OF LYING

MOVIE INFO

Title: The Invention of Lying

Director(s) and writer(s): Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson

Runtime: 1 hour 40 minutes

Release date: October 2nd 2009

Description: In a world where lying doesn't exist, failing script editor Mark Bellison suddenly develops the ability to bend the truth. Spinning tall tales to get out of trouble and into girls' pants, his unique ability proves invaluable as the painfully truthful townspeople believe every porkie-pie he utters.

Note: Spoiler alert, and yes, at this point I've given up the pretence about this being a book-only reviews. Gosh, I have to change the introduction, don't I?

BEFORE WE BEGIN

This, to me, is a definition of a perfect movie. I mean, I don't find it perfect, but it's certainly what I expect out of a movie. The plot is brilliant. It's the sort of movie that makes you think, and that's always a good thing.

Like with The Butterfly Effect, this movie reinforces the idea that in the end, your story needs to be simple. Despite all the stuff with no one being unable to tell a lie, in the end, it's all about getting the girl.

What I find even more curious is that this movie came out after the Save the Cat! beat sheet was popularised, and how amazingly it follows the structure. 

The one problem I have with its movies is that the dialogues can be tweaked a bit so it follows the movie's main rule; no one besides Mark is able to tell a lie. Because of this rule, the characters would say things strangely; blunt and cruel with smiles. It's hilarious. Sometimes, though, the way they say things are too similar to how real people say things.

It's not that any of the other characters can tell a lie, though. It's just that the dialogues themselves can be a bit cliche, sometimes. But that's not really a complaint, though, considering everything else about the movie is brilliant.

CHARACTER(S) ANALYSIS

Every character needs to have a Lie; something wrong they believe in that clashes against their deepest desire. But in this story, the Lie—only attractive people get to be with attractive people—doesn't belong to Mark. It belongs to the world. And it belongs to his love interest.

No, Mark doesn't have a character arc. Or if he does, I didn't catch it.

In fact, I'd argue that this is as much of Anna's story as it is Mark's.

That's not to say that Mark doesn't have a Lie himself. It's just that his Lie isn't as prominent to the story as Anna's. Mark's Lie—which I don't think counts as a real Lie—is about how you could be happy if you're rich and famous.

There's a joke here, somewhere, about me analysing Lies in terms of storytelling with a movie that's about actual lies, but I'm too lazy to make it.

I'd read somewhere that there are 3 sorts of character arcs; a positive one where someone turns better, a negative one where someone turns evil (or something), and a flat one where the protagonist themselves doesn't change, but the world around them does.

If my mind didn't make all of that bullshit up, then we all know which arc Mark has in this story.

STRUCTURE ANALYSIS

ACT 1

The set up of the movie shows us how the Mark lives his life, and how horrible of a life it is. Everything in his life goes horribly wrong, from losing his job to having a "horrible" date with a woman who's out of his league.

Then, the inciting incident happens, with him telling his first lie.

What I find curious is that there's no debate. The Save the Cat! structure demands that the first half of the first act be about the set up, and the second half be about the debate that leads to the next act. 

That is not to say that the character doesn't react to his first lie. Far from it. But in my opinion, the reaction itself is part of Act 2A, not Act 1.

ACT 2A

This act fulfils the promise of the premise very well. Mark fixes every single one of the problems that are built up in the very beginning of the movie, which makes everything more satisfying. He also seemingly fixes everyone else's problems with his newfound "powers."

MIDPOINT

Jessica Brody argues that the midpoint is what makes or breaks a story, and I completely agree with her. Whatever happens in the midpoint, it's gotta elevate the story in some way, whether be it a plot twist or something else. Hell, I'd even argue that the midpoint can be called the second inciting incident.

In this movie, the midpoint is Mark's mom dying, and the lies he told her before she dies. And the fact everyone listened to his lie.

ACT 2B

This one, in my opinion, is less of Mark's story and more of the world's story as they react to Mark's lies. Mark more or less told them there's a God and that heaven and hell exist, and, well, that's not really a small thing, is it?

It's also Anna's bad guys closing in, with her developing a new relationship with a man she doesn't love. And one that's also an asshole.

This, in turn, makes Mark's internal problems rise up too. He becomes more and more distressed the longer the story goes on.

All is lost when Anna decides to actually pursue the douchebag love interest. 

One thing worth pointing out is that, according to Jessica Brody, the dark night of the soul is usually where the character "reverts back to their old self." For example, they might return back to their old homes.

In this movie, Mark himself doesn't revert back to his old self, but the world does. Every problem he thought he fixed still exists, only in different ways. This is a clever way of showing that he's not as great as he appears to be, and in the end, nothing ever changes.

ACT 3

Mark gathers the team by getting ready for Anna's wedding. He executes the plan by confessing his love and telling Anna the moral of the story, which is how you shouldn't be shallow. The high tower surprise is Anna "rejecting his offer", only for her to run up to him again once they're alone. His execution of the new plan is him telling the truth to Anna, which is that he can lie. The final image is, of course, him getting what he really wants; a family with Anna.

Got that? 

Good.