Jakob the Liar

Directed by Peter Kassovitz, Jakob the Liar follows Robin Williams’ Jakob Heym as he attempts to bring hope to his fellow Polish Jews by fabricating news stories from an imaginary radio. It’s compelling subject matter that’s employed to hit-and-miss effect by Kassovitz, as the filmmaker, armed with his and Didier Decoin’s screenplay, delivers an erratically-paced drama that ultimately isn’t able to justify its 120 minute running time – with the almost episodic bent of the movie’s midsection resulting in as many lackluster digressions as compelling sequences. There’s little doubt, then, that Jakob the Liar‘s mild success is due predominantly to its stellar performances and smattering of engrossing interludes (eg the Gestapo arrive to take away Armin Mueller-Stahl’s Dr. Kirschbaum), with, in terms of the former, Williams’ stirring and incredibly sympathetic turn going a long way towards smoothing over the narrative’s bumps and lulls. (It’s clear, too, that the picture benefits from the efforts of such top-notch periphery players as Liev Schreiber, Alan Arkin, and Bob Balaban.) By the time the predictably downbeat finale rolls around, Jakob the Liar has confirmed its place as a decent WWII drama that is perhaps not as emotionally-devastating as one might’ve anticipated.

**1/2 out of ****