The Good Lie

"Miracles are made by people who refuse to stop believing."

2014 1h 50m EN

🙌

7.5

BANGER

🍅

85%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.4

IMDB

★7.5TMDB · 628🍅85%Rotten Tomatoes●65Metacritic★7.4IMDB · 36,118

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A young refugee of the Sudanese Civil War who wins a lottery for relocation to the United States with three other lost boys. Encountering the modern world for the first time, they develop an unlikely friendship with a brash American woman assigned to help them, but the young man struggles to adjust to this new life and his feelings of guilt about the brother he left behind.

“Miracles are made by people who refuse to stop believing.”

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Cast

Reese Witherspoon
Carrie Davis
Corey Stoll
Jack
Arnold Oceng
Mamere
Ger Duany
Jeremiah
Thad Luckinbill
Matt
Afemo Omilami
Dr. Monyang
Sarah Baker
Pamela Lowi
Joshua Mikel
Dave

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Philippe Falardeau
Writers: Margaret Nagle
Languages: English
Countries: India, Kenya, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 17% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 12 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: India, Kenya, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Philippe Falardeau, shot by Ronald Plante. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Martin Léon. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Richard Comeau shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Reese Witherspoon and Corey Stoll and Arnold Oceng carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Miracles are made by people who refuse to stop believing.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Philippe Falardeau directs. Ronald Plante behind the camera. Martin Léon scores. Richard Comeau cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in India, Kenya, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 17% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 12 years ago.
3International production across 3 countries: India, Kenya, United States of America.
4Directed by Philippe Falardeau, shot by Ronald Plante. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Martin Léon. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Richard Comeau shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Reese Witherspoon and Corey Stoll and Arnold Oceng carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Miracles are made by people who refuse to stop believing.".
9IMDB entry: tt2652092 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Ronald Plante
Original score: Martin Léon
Editing: Richard Comeau
Production design: Aaron Osborne
Costume design: Suttirat Anne Larlarb
Stunt coordinator: Keith Woulard
Runtime: 110 min · 1h 50m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $20,000,000
Box office: $3,396,345
Return: 17% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The Good Lie (2014)
Rotten Tomatoes: 85% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 65/100
IMDB rating: 7.4/10 · 36,118 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

3 wins & 7 nominations total

Also by

Philippe Falardeau

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2015-04-08
★ 9/10
Migration is the part of life for birds and animals for millions of years. For the different season, to be in the different places, away from harsh nature is to comforts from any severeness. Still happening in greater number everywhere except humans who thought enough is enough, let's stay and face the challenges. Wow, that's awesome, the civilization was born. So those who stayed in the different places, formed different race, different culture and language with borders around. All kinds of people (religious) have to live together, if something goes wrong between them, the weaker must retreat, but to where? I have to mention all these, because to remind ourselves how far we'd come. Today to travel to another continent you've to pass so many formalities like visa, passport, security check, background check, check-up for latest fast spreading disease, body scans for smuggling, purpose of visit etc. It is better to turn into a bird and fly away than going through all this. That's why I am not a nationalist and call myself the citizen of planet Earth, which put me on debate with guys around on the several occasions. Okay. The movie was inspired by 'Lost Boys of Sudan'. The true story of four young Sudanese, after their elders were killed in the attack of their village they team up to escape. Henceforth living in the refugee camp in Kenya, looking for an opportunity for a better life. It lands, but struggle continues as to adapt the new place and finding the right employment. The journey from nowhere to the land of dream, but they had no dream at all, all they wanted was a normal life anywhere peacefully. On the other end, the rules and regulations begin to haunt them, which they were not used to it. ‘‘We found strength in sticking together But our hope of ever leaving was fading.’’ Definitely an inspiring story. For the meaning of the title, you have to wait until the last minute. Because all the great stories told in the history began or ends with the great sacrifice. That was a touching scene, I just imagined, in reality, how tough it would have been. You probably don't understand what I'm saying, but I'm trying to keep spoiler away. We had seen the similar theme from another angle in Gerard Butler starer 'Machine Gun Preacher'. Yep, about the same war, but set in a different place. The main difference is this movie is not a heroic tale like that where a white man fights for the innocent Africans. You know there are about 20.000 boys and girls orphaned and displaced during the civil war that lasted for nearly 25 years. The writer had to pick just one from the thousands of stories. So that's how 'The Good Lie' came, a story of complete integrity. From the filmmaker of Oscar nominated foreign movie 'Monsieur Lazhar'. One of my favourites from Canada. I loved all his previous films, so the expectation for this was same as always. It partially feels like a docudrama, but it was not. Leaping into Hollywood did not change his style of film making. He turned into an American movie in which something lacks today, reality and honesty with dynamic story than its characters. Reese Witherspoon's presence did not affect either, the narration was neutral from the perspective of character preference. In fact, Reese Witherspoon's existence helped to put some familiar face on the posters. Especially for the marketing purpose for the wide release, other than the film festivals. So this movie definitely is to go for it, only if you're not seeking entertainment. 8.5/10

Production companies