The Whole Truth

Name: The Whole Truth
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Released: October 21, 2016
Duration: 93 min
Rating: 46

2016

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Mixed or average reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 13 Ratings

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5.4

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5.4	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 13 Ratings

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The Whole Truth

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Movie Details & Credits

Lionsgate Premiere | Release Date: October 21, 2016 | R

Summary: Defense attorney Richard Ramsay (Keanu Reeves) takes on a personal case when he swears to his widowed friend, Loretta Lassiter (Renée Zellweger), that he will keep her son Mike (Gabriel Basso) out of prison. Charged with murdering his father, Mike initially confesses to the crime. But as the trial proceeds, chilling evidence about the kindDefense attorney Richard Ramsay (Keanu Reeves) takes on a personal case when he swears to his widowed friend, Loretta Lassiter (Renée Zellweger), that he will keep her son Mike (Gabriel Basso) out of prison. Charged with murdering his father, Mike initially confesses to the crime. But as the trial proceeds, chilling evidence about the kind of man that Boone Lassiter (Jim Belushi) really was comes to light. While Ramsay uses the evidence to get his client acquitted, his new colleague Janelle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) tries to dig deeper - and begins to realize that the whole truth is something she alone can uncover.… Expand

Director: Courtney Hunt

Genre(s): Drama, Thriller

Rating: R

Runtime: 93 min

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Critic Reviews

Alan Scherstuhl

Oct 19, 2016

This engaging courtroom drama aces the trick of grounding its ludicrousness in a convincing facsimile of reality. Read full review

Michael Nordine

Oct 17, 2016

The Whole Truth stands out within its evergreen genre for the largely unsensational manner in which it’s presented. Hunt follows actual courtroom procedures more closely than most similar movies...which makes the eventual revelations feel earned. Read full review

Dan Gunderman

Oct 21, 2016

While it does fall victim to a number of genre tropes, it is fronted by a believable Keanu Reeves and a pleasantly deceitful Renee Zellweger. Plus, an agreeable performance from the defendant character, played by Gabriel Basso, keeps the story pulsating. Read full review

Robert Abele

Oct 20, 2016

Hunt, whose debut feature was “Frozen River,” has a steadfastly classicist approach to tried-and-true genre storytelling that’s admirable, but instead of building tension, The Whole Truth lets it bleed out. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Brian Tallerico

Oct 21, 2016

Ultimately, there’s nothing offensively bad here—other than a waste of talent who should be doing better work—but it’s so forgettable that you’ll have trouble remembering if you saw it or not when you scroll past it on cable in a few months. Read full review

Tom Keogh

Oct 20, 2016

The film’s bleached colors and Reeves’ trademark woodenness add to its emotional remoteness, though Basso, Zellweger and Belushi create a convincing family in crisis. Zellweger, especially, delivers a fascinating, complex performance as a damaged survivor. Read full review

Rex Reed

Oct 19, 2016

A guaranteed cure for insomnia, an abomination called The Whole Truth is a courtroom movie that looks like a colorized version of an old Perry Mason TV show, starring Renée Zellweger’s new face and Keanu Reeves, who has the charisma and animated visual appeal of a mud fence. Read full review

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User Reviews

drone41

May 20, 2018

It's a really interesting movie, but i think the biggest defect is that it is very short and rapid.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Ralfbergs

Mar 1, 2017

The storyline is actually quite good, but how the movie portrays it downsells it and makes you feel indifferent about the ending. Not a bad movie but could have been much better with proper directing and better acting from some of the actors.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

LeZee

Dec 14, 2016

...Or the whole lie!

It's a courtroom drama, about a murder mystery of a wealthy lawyer. It opened with a defense attorney voicing his 17 year old boy client suspected of murder of his own father. The boy had not spoken ever since the incident, so his lawyer does not know how to build the...Or the whole lie!

It's a courtroom drama, about a murder mystery of a wealthy lawyer. It opened with a defense attorney voicing his 17 year old boy client suspected of murder of his own father. The boy had not spoken ever since the incident, so his lawyer does not know how to build the case and defend him. Seems no one know what happened except the boy, so proving he's an innocent becomes their tough nut to crack. How the trial ends and revealing truth comes in the later part.

Boring. That's right, but not fully. The main reason was it is slow like a soulless. There's no one's performance to highlight. Only Gugu looked so good in her small part when everybody else was so dull. The Keanu Reeve's background narration was sometimes annoying. Totally unbelievable that Renee Zellweger was unrecognisable 6 years after returning to the cinema. I had to check online to confirm that she was it.

The idea for the story to develop was not that bad, but had some issues. The screenplay was flawed, though the initial part looked okay. Probably in the midway, you will figure it out all like I did, so the remaining is to know how it all happened. The detail at the end was too much. After letting us know the truth, they did not had to detail that part in the pictures which in my perspective ruined this film. That makes it a not so smart.

And also about the parenting, particularly about the mother, the writers missed the point like any mother would defend her child for any cost. It's their nature, I mean most of them, so not this mother to blame for that, but the writers who only thought of the twist and to keep the suspense for as long as it goes. So this is an average film for intelligent people and even for the average people. Now you know who might love this flick than anybody else. Yet not bad for watching it once.

5/10… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

imthenoob

Dec 31, 2016

I'm really on the fence about this. I like Reeves but I felt he wasn't really used to his full potential during the film. He honestly just came off more of a poster boy than a lead role. You could tell one of the main characters was more involved than they claimed to be but you don't figureI'm really on the fence about this. I like Reeves but I felt he wasn't really used to his full potential during the film. He honestly just came off more of a poster boy than a lead role. You could tell one of the main characters was more involved than they claimed to be but you don't figure out until the end as to how involved. So it is a little predictable but not so much where you still can't enjoy watching it.

The supporting cast really stepped up and made this movie a lot better than it would have been without them. I am disappointed in Zellweger though. I felt she lacked that certain ability (acting) and didn't sell her performance at all. She should just go away quietly and never return.

Overall, Not a bad movie. It's a decent enough courtroom drama to want to sit through and the run time is reasonable enough where you wouldn't get tired of sitting through it. Potential was there was a bit more improvement though - More Reeves mainly, Maybe being more subtle with the twists and predictability. Worth a Redbox rental though if you are a fan of Reeves, Other than that I wouldn't really recommend it as it's not really noteworthy.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

eva3si0n

Dec 31, 2020

The Whole Truth is a judicial drama, but only on a general plot. The film itself is a typical B-movie in which there is 1 top actor. The plot here is linear and predictable. The denouement is served as if the viewer is watching a film with his eyes closed. It's so banal here. And even KeanuThe Whole Truth is a judicial drama, but only on a general plot. The film itself is a typical B-movie in which there is 1 top actor. The plot here is linear and predictable. The denouement is served as if the viewer is watching a film with his eyes closed. It's so banal here. And even Keanu Reeves can not paint all this gray and secondary narrative in any way.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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