Lying and Stealing

2019 American film

Matt Aselton
Adam Nagata

Produced by

Mohamed AlRafi
Naomi Despres
Michael Costigan

Starring

Theo James
Emily Ratajkowski
Fred Melamed
Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Isiah Whitlock Jr.
Evan Handler
Julia Haart

CinematographyCorey WalterEdited byGeoff HounsellMusic by

Sonya Belousova
Giona Ostinelli

Production
companies

Cota Films
50 Degrees Entertainment
Voltage Pictures

Distributed by

Vertical Entertainment
DirecTV Cinema

Release date

July 12, 2019 (2019-07-12)

CountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBox office$641,509^[1]

Lying and Stealing is a 2019 American crime drama film, directed by Matt Aselton from a screenplay by Aselton and Adam Nagata. It stars Theo James, Emily Ratajkowski, Fred Melamed, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Isiah Whitlock Jr. and Evan Handler.

It was released on July 12, 2019, by Vertical Entertainment.

Plot

Ivan Warding is a thief who specializes in stealing art from the elite of Los Angeles. He is obliged to a crime boss and wants to get out of the art heist business. Elyse Tibaldi is an in-debt aspiring actress who is also a con-woman. Together they plot one last heist and con that will set both free from their obligations.

Cast

Theo James as Ivan Warding
Emily Ratajkowski as Elyse Tibaldi
Fred Melamed as Dimitri Maropakis
Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ray Warding
Isiah Whitlock Jr. as Lyman Wilkers
Evan Handler as Eric Maropakis
John Gatins as Aton Eisenstadt
Fernanda Andrade as Mary Bertring
Bob Stephenson as Mr. Oklahoma
Keith Powell as Mike Williams
Julia Haart as Foxy

Production

In November 2017, it was announced Theo James, Emily Ratajkowski, Fred Melamed, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Evan Handler and John Gatins joined the cast of the film, with Matt Aseleton directing from a screenplay he wrote alongside Adam Nagata.^[2]

Release

In January 2019, Vertical Entertainment and DirecTV Cinema acquired distribution rights to the film.^[3] It was released on July 12, 2019.^[4]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 62% based on 13 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10.^[5] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 50 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[6]

Dennis Harvey of Variety magazine wrote: "Yet even given its budgetary limits and second-tier cast, 'Lying and Stealing' manages to be a retro escapist pleasure — one whose cleverness might actually have been muffled by flashier surface assets."^[7]

References

^ "Lying and Stealing (2019)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
^ Keslassy, Elsa (November 4, 2017). "Global Road Unveils First Still, Full Cast on 'Lying and Stealing' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
^ Hipes, Patrick (January 25, 2019). "Theo James-Emily Ratajkowski Movie 'Lying And Stealing' Heading For Theaters In Vertical-DirecTV Deal". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
^ "Virtually every movie coming out this summer". Los Angeles Times. April 25, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
^ "Lying and Stealing". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
^ "Lying and Stealing". Metacritic. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
^ Harvey, Dennis (12 July 2019). "Film Review: 'Lying and Stealing'". Variety.