Review by Martin Petrov
In a contemporary crime drama, first time filmmaker Mitu Misra gathers together an everyday, yet conceptually original story, complex characters and builds up a plot that can easily compete with indie social realist films from both Europe and across the pond.
Starting off with a dose of eroticism, the development of Lies We Tell into a suspense-filled crime thriller with a full-bodied social background definitely comes as a greatly welcomed surprise.
Based and filmed in the UK, the story follows the character of Amber, a UK-born twenty-something girl with Pakistani origins trapped in a complex web of relationships and bonds with the life she’s trying to escape and the one she attempts to design on her own.
Growing up in a Muslim family in England, traditions and respect for family ties were always number one priority in Amber’s life. When sent to Pakistan at the age of sixteen to marry a local husband approved by her father, she managed to escape the arrangement and for the following years create a maze of lies to keep her private life far from the sight of her family. Single partner in crime is her younger sister, Miriam, who soon becomes age appropriate to marry, adding pressure to Amber’s rebellion and attempt to save her from life in virtual imprisonment with a husband she didn’t choose.
When Demi, the wealthy older businessman who Amber used to date, dies suddenly, she enters a cat and mouse race along with Demi’s driver Donald, in order to discover an erotic video with the couple and prevent it from falling in the wrong hands. Amber is now confronted with her past, present and future at the same time, with her emotional stability endangered by a man she rejected in the past and who now returns as the chosen husband for her young sister.
The multi-layered plot reveals interesting aspects of contemporary real-life inspired stories of women in the western world, who end up trapped in a religion, heritage and tradition driven conspiracy, despite them being raised in different culture and lifestyle. There’s been numerous attempts by international NGOs and local organisations in the UK to help women who struggle or are forced into marriage, and yet the phenomenon is still raising great public interest.
Set within the background of a relatively small English town, the film gives also a taste of the underground gangster nightlife, drug dealing and prostitution; profound and at times disturbing close-ups at the intimate lifestyle of small suburbans, combined with a smaller-scale immigrant communities.
First time director Misra touches upon a variety of issues surrounding the life of immigrant muslim families and the rights of women growing up in such environments. At times, the linear yet tangled plot can be restrictive of details surrounding the background of Amber and her family, which could be essential for the story, if it was simply focused on the single character. The attempt to create a rather complex storytelling with a number of characters, each contributing to an extend to the unfolding of the narrative, becomes here and there a visual distraction, making the in-depth analysis of the strongest factors hard.
Visually satisfying, Lies We Tell achieves smooth plot transitions, sustains the suspense levels throughout and the cast of young leads surrounded by strong presences as Gabriel Byrne as Donald and Harvey Keitel in a cameo appearance in the opening, brings versatility to this indie debut.
Martin Petrov UK, Film Festival director: Glasgow World of Fest, a regular correspondent for filmfestivals.com at various festivals including Cannes and Berlin
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