Honestly, the movie is more of a public service announcement than a movie. It is literally ripped from a Dateline episode. They sprinkled in some frivolous ex-girlfriend drama and last minute abduction to qualify it as a "movie" but it has little "story" value. There is essentially no mystery whatsoever. You can predict the entire movie from the first 10-15 minutes.
Kate, the lead victim, is mind-boggling gullible to the point of annoyance - particularly her offering up thousands and thousands of dollars, far beyond her means, SO SOON into their simply "dating" just for a few weeks. Now I know the movie had to compress the timeline for the sake of time and advance the movie but it still was distracting.
These scams really really happen precisely as depicted in the movie... so yes I hope vulnerable men and women find educational value from the presentation. Meanwhile the movie has minimal if any entertainment value.
Love at First Lie
2023
Action / Drama

Love at First Lie
2023
Action / Drama
Plot summary
Kate Burns is looking for the perfect match online when she swipes and meets Walker Stevenson, a wealthy jet-setting art dealer. After Kate falls for the dashing dealer, she learns Walker is a hustler who cons women out of their money.
Director
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU 720p.WEB 1080p.WEBMovie Reviews
Prescient
Beware the scammers!
Could have been a good scam story....
I'll admit, I didn't watch Love at First Lie from start to finish. I skipped a small chunk, but tuned back in when Walker was feeding Kate a line about how dangerous his profession was and he had to hide a painting from some dangerous people. At that point, I thought Kate should have run for the hills, but instead, she offers to help him hide the painting at her house. I almost stopped watching right then, but the reviews I read intrigued me.
This whole scenario reminded me of the Malaysian movie, Love Conquers All, where a creep pretends to fall in love with a beautiful young woman, then tricks her into prostitution by pretending to be in danger. Similarly, in Love at First Lie, Walker spins a tale about transporting a $6 million painting to a client, but claims that some bad people have found out about it and he can't get it to them. A dozen red flags should have gone off, but Kate doesn't kick him out. Instead, she offers to store the painting at her home.
If the story was just about the paintings, I would have rolled my eyes and stopped watching. But I continued to watch as Walker gains Kate's trust with compliments, flashing wads of cash, and playing tricks on her, like saying his credit cards were stopped due to the bad guys. Of course, Kate offers him hers. And when he shows up bruised, claiming to be beat up by the bad guys, I was like, "Oh my god, this is just like Love Conquers All." That's all part of the scam. And, as in the Malaysian movie, some women believe despite a million warning signs believe their love conquers all.
I would have given this six stars but the ending was not good at all. This guy was a gigolo scammer not a violent kidnapper.