Since Rachel and Ethan are interacting on a similar wavelength, they both try to set up Suze and Bobby, but that was a futile romantic effort. The next day, Rachel wakes up in Ethan’s bed, fully aware that she has to get out of there before Ethan wakes up. But Rachel left something sacred behind that’s emblematic of her incessant commitment to Jake: her engagement ring. And it’s safe to surmise that the “stolen” engagement ring (another lie she cooks up) will come back to reverse Rachel’s little black lie, or worst-case scenario, precipitate a murder. After all, Jake wallows in his anger, and when such volatile emotions are not attentively controlled, they can erupt into violence.
As Rachel is caught between her seemingly platonic love for Jake and her amorous love for Ethan, the potentiality of Rachel’s lie being exposed grows progressively higher. And Jake ventures on a search for Rachel’s rapist, which obviously won’t end well. The stakes are clearly drawn, and for the most part, reasonably felt, but a two-hour runtime is exhausting, especially considering how much Todd Theman does stylistically.
“…the entire cast does an adequate job igniting the steamy flames that fuel this sensual tale…”
Little Black Lie hinges on elevated melodrama, and the entire cast does an adequate job igniting the steamy flames that fuel this sensual tale of power and perfidy. Even with a keen sense of awareness, the film, at a point, gets distractingly weary and sybaritic. Little Black Lie constantly tries to draw attention to itself. From the bright color palette, the trembling camera, overlapping audio, to the split-screen technique, the film’s aesthetic is quite showy. A shot of Rachel drowning, indicating that she’s being weighed down by the lie, is but one example of the very overt symbolism. While Todd Theman’s power fantasy is never stagnant, it is, needlessly busy, with a lot of style and not enough substance.
Creatively, Little Black Lie is garishly attractive. The ending, in particular, is quite sickly effective in terms of bringing the vision of a power reverie to life, but it still lacks a certain punch. Early on, Ethan tells his friend (though he’s staring straight into the camera, so it’s as if he’s speaking to us) that “The most dangerous lie we ever tell…is to ourselves.” The movie vividly depicts that quote by highlighting how far Rachel goes to maintain a single lie that has to do with her well-being. In the process, Rachel loses herself, and in return, Jake loses himself. Little Black Lie is unabashedly enjoyable, even if the characters are brazenly disreputable, and the lie is unbearably dishonorable.
"…a lot of style and not enough substance."
