Lie With Me Film 2022 ✮

Here’s a helpful and heartfelt story inspired by the themes of Lie With Me (2022), the French film directed by Olivier Peyon, based on Philippe Besson’s novel.

In the landscape of contemporary French cinema, few novels have held as much cult status as Philippe Besson’s Arrête avec tes mensonges (Stop with Your Lies). Published in 2017, the semi-autobiographical novella was a literary sensation, praised for its brevity, its raw emotion, and its distinct voice. When it was announced that the book would be adapted for the screen in 2022, retitled Lie With Me for English-speaking audiences, there was a palpable mixture of excitement and trepidation among fans. Could a film possibly capture the fragile, ephemeral quality of Besson’s prose?

The story follows Stéphane Belcourt, a famous writer who returns to his small hometown for the first time in thirty-five years to serve as an ambassador for a local cognac distillery. While there, he is confronted by the landscape of his youth—a place he fled to escape the suffocating constraints of provincial life. The trip takes an emotional turn when he meets Lucas, the son of his first love, Thomas. As Stéphane and Lucas spend time together, the narrative shifts between the present day and the sun-drenched summer of 1984, unraveling the secret, intense relationship between a young Stéphane and the guarded, athletic Thomas. Lie With Me Film 2022

: Actor Victor Belmondo, who plays Lucas, is the grandson of the legendary French film icon Jean-Paul Belmondo Thematic Focus

“Thank you,” Stéphane whispers. Not just to Thomas, but to Lucas—for bridging a gap that grief and fear had left un-crossable. Here’s a helpful and heartfelt story inspired by

It is a beautiful, sad, and ultimately hopeful film. It suggests that even if you cannot bring back the dead or reverse time, you can still tell the truth. And in telling the truth, as Stéphane finally does, you free the next generation (Lucas) from the weight of his father’s lies.

“You don’t know me,” the young man says, “but I’m Lucas. My father was Thomas Andrieu.” When it was announced that the book would

Lie With Me excels in its dual-timeline structure. The 1984 sequences are bathed in a nostalgic, hazy light, capturing the raw urgency of a hidden queer romance in a conservative rural setting. These scenes are balanced by the grounded, melancholic reality of the present. Guillaume de Tonquédec delivers a masterful performance as the adult Stéphane, conveying a deep-seated longing and professional weariness. Opposite him, Victor Belmondo (grandson of the legendary Jean-Paul Belmondo) plays Lucas with a gentle curiosity that serves as the perfect catalyst for Stéphane’s introspection.

A between the movie and Philippe Besson's original book Information on where to stream it in your region A list of similar French LGBTQ+ dramas to watch next

The next day, Stéphane delivers his talk. Instead of speaking about brandy or fame, he reads a new passage—raw and unpolished—about two boys and a goodbye that was never spoken aloud. The audience is silent. For the first time in his career, Stéphane isn’t hiding behind fiction.

Olivier Peyon, Vincent Poymiro, Arthur Cahn, and Cécilia Rouaud Reception & Availability Lie with Me