Every person who has lived a conscious life knows the destructive power of lying. Like the fact that entangled in a web of lies, it is always difficult to get out of it. Once you lie, you always have to do it again, and in the end, the snowball of lies becomes so huge that it becomes impossible to cope with it. This is what happened to the heroes of the film “Defeated Idol”, based on the story of the famous English writer Graham Crean. Butler Baines, left by chance with his wife to look after the ambassador’s son, little Philip, learns about the consequences of rash lies on his skin. His wife, the despotic and capricious Mrs. Baines, does not give passage to either her husband or the young ward, setting both against themselves. And if all Philip is capable of is childishly directly insulting her at dinner, then tired of his wife Baines, finds a woman on the side. Forced to lie first to the boy and then to his wife, the butler finds himself in an extremely delicate situation. Rash words and deeds continue to accumulate, and in the end everything ends in tragedy, for which each of the heroes has to answer.
"Fallen Idol" - the words made into the film title, of course, refer to its main character - butler Baines. As a role model and best friend to Philip, he loses that status when the butler’s not-too-dying truth is revealed. In fact, honesty and what its absence can lead to are the main leitmotif of the Fallen Idol. Unlike the original, in which the detective component was brought to the first place, the film adaptation more evades the moral message. Which, however, does not spoil it at all - provided competent directing and good acting, any plot begins to play with new colors. The Fallen Idol is no exception. The action of the film, mostly built on dialogue, also comes into motion due to the large number of details that seem insignificant at first sight. But, some time passes and they, like the lost details of a huge designer, become the most noticeable part of it. And here the characters of the film, and most importantly, of course, young Philip, begin to understand the irreversibility, and sometimes the fatality of what was done and said. At some point, all the actors are drawn into a subtle and dangerous game that leads them into the abyss with seven-mile steps. And when they realize that it was better to tell the truth from the beginning, it is too late. And in order for the viewer to fully feel the significance of what is happening, it is conveyed through the eyes of a child who understands little from what he is told. Confused in a series of constant secrets, Philip, who, due to his age, has not yet learned to lie, acts as a direct observer. The director plays on the contrast between the immaculate image of the boy and the valet, once again emphasizing his main idea. And despite the fact that this thought appeared simultaneously with the lie itself, that is, on the day of the creation of the world, in the Fallen Idol it is presented in such a way that you do not think about it. After all, everything new is the well-forgotten old, and Fallen Idol is so good that it is unlikely to be forgotten, which its creators sought.