Lie To Me | 2024 | 16m
Lie To Me | 2024 | 16m
Director: Vincent Lee Accettola
Cinematographer: Lin Tsung-Yen
Gaffer: Yu-hsuan "Jacq" Chen
Steadicam Op: Yang Chung-Chieh "Jay"
Synopsis:
JESS (31) joins LILY (28) at an open-air bar in Taipei, presenting her date with a birthday card and wine despite Lily's protests that she's already spending too much on her. Agreeing to disagree about whether Lily is allergic to her gift, Jess reassures her that she's planned another surprise, this one an activity, and tries defending her eagerness to spoil by citing a misremembered - and as Lily soon points out, flawed - study about how time is more valuable than cash.
Strolling through one of Taiwan's bustling night markets, Jess and Lily engage in a questionable exchange about the evolutionary capacity for girls to be funny.
The conversation abruptly shifts when it's revealed that Jess was in fact helping Lily rehearse for an audition, and that Jess was no longer comfortable with the morality of her partner's character. Lily retorts by asserting how consultants [like Jess] don't actually have values, though she quickly apologizes. Leveraging her date's momentary guilt, Jess asks about her prior proposal to go steady, but Lily admits that she hasn't yet discussed it with her folks. Hiding her disappointment, Jess grabs Lily by the hand and the duo speed off to their surprise - a military simulation exercise at a local airsoft range.
Notwithstanding a Pattonesque safety briefing about how civilians like Jess and Lily must constitute their island's final line of defense, the couple is set to battle a squad of thirteen-year-old boys. Within the arena, they consider the depraved absurdity of picking off their prepubescent foes, but also silently linger on the realization that these kids could very well form the frontlines in a future invasion.
Lily convinces Jess that they be conscientious objectors and the two hide amidst approaching gunfire, silently exchanging glances that border on romantic.
Back in bed and after some implied intimacies, Jess caresses Lily's head but can't help but comment upon her companion's dandruff. This sparks an argument in which Lily confronts Jess about her narcissism, pointing out how the entire night was actually planned around Jess's interests. Jess finally smacks Lily after being challenged for being so sexually benign, the strike swiftly escalating into a full-fledged scuffle that only ends when Jess yells out a safeword. Lily promptly tends to her lover and helps Jess to her feet before excusing herself to the bathroom.
Jess beams with fresh memories of the elaborate roleplay that just transpired, but her grin steadily fades. Lily opens Jess's card, revealing 40,000 NTD inside.
