The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
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Lying and Stealing
Crime · Comedy · Drama · 2019
Hoping to leave his criminal lifestyle behind him, a successful art thief teams up with a sexy con woman to pull off the ultimate heist and set himself free.
Movie details
Lying and Stealing
“Good artists create. Great artists steal.”
2019 Crime · Comedy · Drama 1h 40m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
5.9 / 10
Community rating
Hoping to leave his criminal lifestyle behind him, a successful art thief teams up with a sexy con woman to pull off the ultimate heist and set himself free.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Lying and Stealing?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Adrenaline Seeker
“If it slows down, you check your phone.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Thin Ice
Comedy · 2012
A dishonest insurance salesman's life quickly disintegrates during a Wisconsin winter when he teams up with a psychopath to steal a rare violin at the home of a reclusive farmer.
Bottle Rocket
Comedy · 1996
Upon his release from a mental hospital following a nervous breakdown, the directionless Anthony joins his friend Dignan, who seems far less sane than the former. Dignan has hatched a harebrained scheme for an as-yet-unspecified crime spree that somehow involves his former boss, the (supposedly) legendary Mr. Henry.
Rob the Mob
Crime · 2014
The true-life story of a crazy-in-love Queens couple who robbed a series of mafia social clubs and got away with it… for a while… until they stumble upon a score bigger than they ever planned and become targets of both the mob and the FBI.
American Hustle
Drama · 2013
A conman and his seductive partner are forced to work for a wild FBI agent, who pushes them into a world of Jersey power-brokers and the Mafia.
Confess, Fletch
Comedy · 2022
The roguishly charming and endlessly troublesome Fletch becomes the prime suspect in a murder case while searching for a stolen art collection. The only way to prove his innocence? Find out which of the long list of suspects is the culprit - from the eccentric art dealer and a missing playboy to a crazy neighbor and Fletch’s Italian girlfriend. Crime, in fact, has never been this disorganized.
The Forger
Thriller · 2014
A former child art prodigy and second generation petty thief arranges to buy his way out of prison to spend time with his ailing son, only to be forced to alter his plans and commit one more job for the man who financed his release.
The Art of the Steal
Comedy · 2013
Crunch Calhoun, a third-rate motorcycle daredevil and part-time art thief, teams up with his snaky brother to steal one of the most valuable books in the world. But it's not just about the book for Crunch — he's keen to rewrite some chapters of his own past as well.
The Order
Crime · 2024
A string of violent robberies in the Pacific Northwest leads veteran FBI agent Terry Husk into a white supremacist plot to overthrow the federal government.
Chain of Fools
Crime · 2001
An avid detective is assigned to investigate the heist of a batch of precious coins that end up in the hands of a suicidal barber.
Donnie Brasco
Crime · 1997
An FBI undercover agent infiltrates the mob and identifies more with the mafia life at the expense of his regular one.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Matt Aselton
Written by
Adam Nagata · Matt Aselton
Theo James
Ivan
Emily Ratajkowski
Elyse
Fred Melamed
Dimitri
Aris Alvarado
Pool Man
Fernanda Andrade
Mary
T
Tim Bader
Aaron
Joe Bucaro III
Anatoli / Aristotle
Court is in session
Put Lying and Stealing on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.