Dangerous Lies (2020) – Review/ Summary with Spoilers

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Twist, turns, backstabbings, gunshots and more, all allow “Dangerous Lies” to not be the best film out there, but entertaining.

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Director(s)	Michael M. Scott
Screenplay By	David Golden
Date Released (Netflix)	4/30/2020
Genre(s)	Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Duration	1 Hour, 37 Minutes
Rating	TV-14
Noted Cast
Katie	Camila Mendes
Adam	Jessie T. Usher
Detective Chesler	Sasha Alexander
Leonard	Elliott Gould
Julia	Jamie Chung
Mickey	Cam Gigandet

This content contains pertinent spoilers.

Plot Summary

Katie and Adam are a young and broke couple. Between credit card bills, student loan debt, and minimum wage jobs, they are drowning. However, Katie lucks into a job with an 88-year-old man named Leonard, who is not rich, but far better off than her, and alongside giving her a job, he gives Adam one too. Which is perhaps the beginning of the end of the good times. For in the days that follow Leonard giving Adam a job, one person after another dies in or around Leonard’s home as it is discovered both Leonard and others were hiding things in that house.

Leading to Katie finding herself dealing with cops, grifters, and being forced to see Adam in a new light. The kind that, like a blacklight, makes you wonder if the thing which felt safe, comfortable, clean in a way, is actually dirty and so disgusting you can’t believe you ever allowed yourself to come in contact with is.

Highlights

It Does Lead You To Wonder Who Is And Isn’t In On The Crime

Outside of Katie, and Leonard, you’ll probably have a moment in which you think either this person or that person did it, or they collaborated. This includes Adam, who, with the way the movie paints him, could have gotten desperate and, with his wife stressed out, and him stressed out, he found a way to solve the problem. He, to be a provider, utilized the fact his wife was likable, and this man was 88 and considered her his caretaker, friend, and companion.

And while we’re not saying Adam did or did not do it, almost everyone is given enough of story so that you can imagine them trying to get a cut. Heck, even the detective assigned to the case, detective Chesler, you may side-eye her thinking Leonard called the cops enough times for her to snoop around and find something. It’s just, she needed him to be away or dead to get what was in the house.

On The Fence

The Ending Is, Okay

Here is the thing, we like a good build, but rarely has there been a show or film which stuck the landing. Usually, it seems in trying to create this grand whodunit, they present this ending which goes either one of three ways: Either you find yourself yelling, “I KNEW IT,” “IT WAS THEM” or “That’s some Bull****.” We are leaning to, “That’s some Bull****” due to the person who was part of orchestrating the plan not being someone who played an active role. Also, considering how grand they tried to make the finale, with one gunfight after another, it felt less like they were ending things big and more like they were compensating for the big reveal.

Overall

Would Watch Again? – One and Done

Rating: Mixed (Divisive)

The best way to enjoy “Dangerous Lies” is like you would any movie – Don’t hype it up in your head, just enjoy the ride. This includes questioning, why in the hell would Adam try to stop a robbery? When it comes to Leonard, what did he do with his life that allowed him to be 88, not go anywhere, yet be able to write $7,000 checks like it was nothing and have $100,000? All of these things may not make sense, but sometimes it is those eyebrow-raising questions that get you deeper into the film and makes it so, if you are watching it with someone, it is less something to do and more an experience.

Hence the mixed label. “Dangerous Lies” is not going to be one of the biggest movies of the year, but it definitely will be the talk of your weekend. It’s something to bring up in your Zoom call, or however you are communicating with people who aren’t in quarantine with you. But will you remember it by the end of the summer? Probably not.

“Dangerous Lies” Ending Spoilers

So, Julia forged Leonard’s will, which put Katie as the beneficiary. Why? Well, because Katie seemed like a good mark and considering Leonard barely interacted with anyone, who else would seem like the most logical person to leave a house to? Never mind Mickey, who would sneak into Leonard’s house, he might have heard about Katie’s money issues. Hence him masquerading as a real estate agent hoping he could get the listing. For, while he is “setting things up,” that would give him ample alone time to look around to see where his former partner, Ethan Doyle, hid the diamonds after Mickey got caught and went to jail.

But, while Mickey found Doyle, and killed him, he didn’t discover the diamonds. Unfortunately for him, and Katie, Adam did, and alongside finding around $100,000 hidden beneath Leonard’s mementos, this made Adam a bit money hungry. Making it so he didn’t trust no one, not even Julia, pre-learning she was full of it, and especially not the cops. Heck, we were led to believe that he may not have even trusted Katie and would run off with the money and $3 million worth of diamonds.

However, despite how Adam is made to seem, he truly loved Katie. Granted, he had no desire to be poor, and would definitely do some illegal or morally gray things to keep from being so, but he loved her nonetheless. Which makes the fact he dies, alongside Mickey, and also Julie, thanks to Detective Chesler’s good timing, a bit sad.

Though the real kicker is Katie, we learn after a four-month time jump, is pregnant with Adam’s baby, and is a widow. However, with the reveal, Mickey and Julia are taking the fall for everything. Meaning the money, the house, and the diamonds she claims to not know the location of, they are hers. And considering the sprinkler, after 4 months apparently, starts spraying off the dirt of the diamonds, she is about to be a wealthy young woman.

Sequel Potential

This isn’t really built with a sequel in mind. Outside of expanding who Mickey worked with, what could really be done here?

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