The Lesser Evil is a 1998 American psychological thriller film produced and directed by David Mackay, written by Jeremy Levine and Stephan Schultze, and starring Colm Feore, Tony Goldwyn, Arliss Howard, and David Paymer. A nonlinear narrative film, it follows four men allegedly hiding the crime they committed after twenty years.
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Plot
In the 1970s, Derek Eastman, Frank O'Brian, Ivan Williams, and George are a friendly quadruple adolescent group, who had allegedly committed a murder: one of them inside the car was disposed in the lake near the cliff and the other died in the forest. Twenty years later, they became employees hiding the truth in the log cabin. The flashback connects between the past and present day. When they betray each other, they confirm that Derek wrapped a gun with a plastic bag, before Ivan kills Derek. After the funeral, the rest of the men move on.
Cast
Colm Feore as Derek Eastman, a lumberyard businessman
Jonathan Scarfe as Young Derek
Tony Goldwyn as Frank O'Brian, a police officer
Steven Petrarca as Young Frank
Arliss Howard as Ivan Williams, a Catholic priest
Marc Worden as Young Ivan
David Paymer as George, a lawyer
Adam Scott as Young George
Jack Kehler as Hardaway, a detective
Mason Adams as Derek's father
Production
The story for the film is set in Missouri. The film was shot in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Reception
The film has a 60% approval rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 5 reviews, with an average score of 7.07/10. Variety gave a positive review, calling the film "a crafty and well-crafted drama", and Film Threat praised it as "an exceptionally well told tale".