The Whole Truth
starring Keanu Reeves, Renée Zellweger, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Gabriel Basso and Jim Belushi
written by Rafael Jackson
directed by Courtney Hunt
Rating: ♦♦♦◊◊
Crime suspense. No relation to the David Baladacci novel (2008) or the Stan Laurel movie (1923). The Whole Truth is a courtroom murder trial story. Keanu Reeves plays Richard Ramsay, attorney for teenager Mike Lassiter (Gabriel Basso) accused to killing his wealthy, disciplinarian father, Boone (Jim Belushi), with a knife to the chest.
Mike is keeping strict silence throughout his trial, refusing even to speak to his lawyer, making his defense difficult. Boone is portrayed in flashbacks as overly strict with his son and awfully bullying towards his wife - a rude boor who happens to be wealthy. Sort of like Donald Trump minus all of the Donald’s endearing graces. We are given room to think that Mike’s mother, Loretta (Zellweger) killed her husband in self-defence and Mike is taking the blame to protect her. Or, that Mike killed his father in self-defence against sexual abuse. That final premise sways the jury in Mike’s favor and he is acquitted. But that’s not the end of it. There’s a twist at the very end that reveals the whole truth of the story.
I wanted the film to be a little more exciting than it was. I saw it in my local DVD rental shop but I passed it over until I saw a trailer for it on some other DVD. From the trailer I expected more exciting action. I mean courtroom action, crime and gritty police investigation drama. But I didn’t get that.
This is Renée Zellweger’s “comeback” movie - her first film since 2010. She currently has two other projects in the works, one of which is a second sequel (20 years later) of the first Bridget Jones’ Diary movie. In particular, this is the first I’ve seen of Zellweger with her new look. (She caused a stir in 2014 when she appeared in public at an Elle magazine’s Women in Hollywood Awards and was practically unrecognizable as her old self. There was immediate tabloid and talk show gossip about plastic surgery which Zellweger has never confirmed. Good for her.)