Mark Twain once said, "If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything." The truth may hurt, and it may not be as glamorous as a lie, but at least it's honest. And the truth will keep us out of more trouble than we already find ourselves in.
By the time we meet our protagonist, Katie (Kacie Rohl), she is well past that point. As the camera zooms in, we see her shaving her head. In the next scene, Katie is participating in a fundraiser for her cancer treatments. The audience still is not completely knowledgeable about whether she actually has cancer or not. But the thought has already been planted that perhaps she is not quite telling the truth. Within the first five minutes, the basic plot structure has been set in place. Katie is a college student and dancer who is faking cancer to raise money.
The next hour and a half, we follow Katie as she goes from one meeting to another trying to keep her lie from imploding. The audience sees the depths she is willing to go through to continue her façade. Katie is in over her head and does not know how to come back from the trap that she finds herself in. One does question whether she wants to come back. The audience is left wondering if she likes the game.
The movie is unsettling, as we watch Katie use and manipulate many people in her life to maintain her lie. The question that lingers as the viewer watches her twist her way out of each predicament, is whether it's worth it. What would happen if she just came clean? Katie is constantly having to remember details of what she has said and what she is doing. The audience is left with a feeling of exhaustion at her desperation. We really want to see her lie be found out. If nothing else just for relief.
The filmmaking is well done with great camera shots and fantastic dialogue. Kacey Rohl's performance as Katie, is subtle and yet she can portray a character that the viewer pities.
Review of White Lie
