The Night Agent Star's Other Movie: A Shocking Twist That Wasted a Great cast!
The Whole Truth (2016): A Legal Thriller That Couldn't Quite Deliver
Gabriel Basso, the star of The Night Agent, appeared in a 2016 legal drama alongside the legendary Keanu Reeves— The Whole Truth. The movie promised an incredible twist; and many audience members wanted this particular movie just to discover this unique plot twist. It had a killer twist, which is discussed below in detail. However, those amazing potential elements ended up not really working because of several elements affecting this title.
Directed by Courtney Hunt, the movie follows the trial of a teen (Gabriel Basso) accused of murdering his dad. This setup seems familiar to any audience member. Keanu Reeves plays the defense attorney, and honestly, despite those incredible and highly acclaimed roles he was involved in in past decades and projects. Reeves's performance is, frankly speaking, seriously unimpressive, demonstrating how casting can often make or break a film; yet even this amazing lead role ended up negatively impacted. This isn't to suggest Reeves did badly; but even this specific context resulted in some negative reception among audiences. The whole movie felt surprisingly unexciting and it bombed in the box office and barely made back what it needed to cover its $7 million budget! But that twist, that was something special— and is discussed below in detail!
The Twist That Almost Saved the Whole Thing
The Whole Truth relies heavily on predictable tropes that completely fail to surprise fans of courtroom dramas. The plot is revealed in flashbacks; told by the attorney as he tries to clear this teenager who is largely unconcerned throughout those portions of the storyline and is almost never interested in getting this issue cleared up; further negatively impacting Reeves' own attempt at creating intrigue from the mystery and adding another element affecting this narrative in unintended ways. Despite being intensely frustrating due to how slowly it moves, it also contained those incredible hints leading to an unbelievable twist: Reeves's character wasn't that innocent after all; creating that big reveal. His attorney is in an affair with Basso's mother and they murdered his father together.
This surprise transcends all other problems! It really shows how impressive this moment might otherwise be, and a unique experience. The impact was far greater than that mundane and boring court proceeding. The shocking reveal almost makes up for all that generic courtroom fluff preceding it, suggesting the movie had other plans and potentials which would’ve been more easily realized if not overshadowed by other elements impacting its effectiveness, such as its relatively dull earlier narrative.
What Went Wrong: Wasting an Awesome Cast and Potential
The Whole Truth really was full of potential; the cast featured Renée Zellweger, Jim Belushi, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw – a ridiculously strong team. There was an award-winning director, the entire storyline was promising and had the seeds for potentially interesting story plots which would have become major twists! Yet this missed completely, due to several creative errors.
There is also a major problem, almost all involved seem lacking in chemistry! Reeves' acting is just stilted–a result of poorly-written dialogue and plot choices that failed to engage in truly satisfying ways, resulting in underperforming dialogue from such renowned and capable actors like those included in the production. Gugu Mbatha-Raw's character has the best arc, sadly wasted! They start well, then vanish from view— completely lacking those necessary character details to connect with that final scene, and failing to capitalize and fully establish an already potentially strong storyline.
Conclusion: A Great Twist Deserves a Better Movie
The Whole Truth demonstrates what could've been. Those famous actors and plot details were wasted, making this somewhat disappointing legal thriller despite the potential. It did contain a major, unexpectedly interesting twist, that could only become truly memorable because the rest of that dull narrative doesn’t overshadow it!
