White Lie – Film Review

Directors: Yonah Lewis, Calvin Thomas
Writers: Yonah Lewis, Calvin Thomas
Stars: Kacey Rohl, Amber Anderson, Martin Donovan

Part of the Canada Now Film Festival

Katie Arneson (Kacey Rohl) is a successful and well-liked Undergrad despite living with cancer. She is currently starting a social media campaign to help her get the treatment she desperately needs. Her girlfriend Jennifer (Amber Anderson) is a rock of strength in her life and wants to be more involved in her treatment. We get to see Katie’s daily life in school and beyond but she is living a lie! She doesn’t have cancer and is abusing the kindness of those around her. When her estranged father Doug (Martin Donovan) threatens to reveal the truth, the walls of this elaborate ruse start to collapse.

This film is built around an unusual premise, although it is not as far fetched as it sounds as there have been similar cases in the United States in recent years. The tale is quite fascinating as we are dropped into the middle of the events, without any idea what made Katie develop such a complicated story to base her life around. There are hints to the origin, but the filmmakers make it deliberately vague, allowing the audience to see how convoluted the lie has become!

The film is written and directed by Yonah Lewis and Calvin Thomas, who have worked together on a number of previous projects, including the 2018 film Spice it Up and The Oxbow Cure in 2013. There is a strong cast, with Kacey Rohl creating a wonderfully deluded individual in Katie. She is such a likeable character that it is hard not to care for her, despite her duplicitous nature. She is caught up in the events like she started something she doesn’t know how to stop. It’s an interesting concept and well played out in this tale.