Don’t be fooled by The Good Lie’s poster, in which Reese Witherspoon appears to be at the center of the film. Director Philippe Falardeau and writer Margaret Nagle have managed to pull off something rather remarkable here, and that is that they’ve managed to tell the story of a group of South Sudanese refugees in the U.S. from their perspective rather than from a western one.
After making it out of their war-torn homeland, the four refugees (played by Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal and Kuoth Wiel) are given the chance to live in Kansas City and find work – with the help of Carrie (Witherspoon), an employment officer. Among those aiding the adjustment to their new lives are Carrie’s compassionate boss (Corey Stoll) and a spunky charity worker (Sarah Baker). In the end, two vastly different worlds come together to tell a single heartbreaking story without neglecting the humor of displacement and culture shock.
Last month, we had the chance to head to Nashville, Tennessee to chat with Stoll and the rest of the cast – as well as Nagle – about the poignant drama. They spoke about how working on a film like this puts things into perspective, movies that have changed their views on certain subjects and much more!
Check it all out in the video above and be sure to catch The Good Lie as it’s now in theatres!