User Reviews

"Die Notlüge" is an Austrian/German co-production in the German language from 2017, so still a relatively new movie, and this one was a small screen release that runs the obligatory 1.5 hours and was directed by Marie Kreutzer and written by Pia Hierzegger, who also plays one of the most important characters and acting is still her main profession. Brigitte Hobmeier some German film buffs will probably know as well, but the big star here is of course Josef Hader, who plays the central male character. The latter is a man visiting his mother to show her his new girlfriend and the new family of his ex partner, but for some reason it all goes wrong and he cannot get himself to telling his mom that it is all over with the other woman. Not because he has any feelings for her still, but because he just doesn't want to put a burden on the old woman. So everybody has to play along for a while, but while this little scam (okay that word may be too strong) is always there until almost the end, the focus switches quickly away from this play of hide-and-seek and there is more focus on the relationships between the characters and also the conflicts between them, some of them stronger, others weaker. While creating new conflicts at the very same time. And the old woman plays hardly a part anymore unfortunately because I liked Christine Ostermayer here and luckily she returns at the end again. But yeah I felt that it became pretty mediocre the longer it went and the material did absolutely no justice to the actually pretty formidable and talented cast. The dramatic moment are acted fine, but the tension never really made it through the screen into the audience, i.e. me. And the funnier moments, frequently typically dark Austrian comedy like the cat parts near the end, also did not make me laugh as much as I hoped they would, which did surprise me a bit because usually I appreciate this typically Austrian approach to comedy. And what disappoints me the most is that a genuinely brilliant actor like Hader had so little to work with. Unfortunately, this one we have here is not better than most equally forgettable German (only) small screen releases these days. The only positive thing you can say is that there is no stupid unrealistic romantic story line between any of the characters. Also if you are not too familiar with Austrian accents, then maybe get a good set of subtitles if you can because even as a native German speaker, you may get problems here and there. But the best choice may be to skip this one altogether. I give it a thumbs-down and the title that refers to the initial premise is also not as dominant in the movie as you could expectg and hope for. Watch something else instead.