REVIEW: ‘All The Truth In My Lies’ Is Just As Messy As You Think

Whenever there’s a major milestone in someone’s life, especially when it comes to weddings, there’s some guarantee that there will be drama, even if it’s just a teensy bit. There’s nothing teensy about the drama that unfolds in All The Truth In My Lies (Toda la verdad de mis mentiras). An adaptation of Elísabet Benavent‘s (Valeria) novel of the same name, it’s difficult to look away as a group of friends navigate the emotional chaos that comes on the eve of someone’s wedding. Grab your popcorn because it’s ultimately incredibly messy.

Consisting of five episodes, All The Truth In My Lies focuses on a group of friends, with Coco (Itziar Manero) and Marin (Daniel Ibáñez) at the center of much conversation. They’ve been roommates for years, and when they first meet, Coco tells Marin she’s not interested in dating him. This sets a clear boundary between them, one they fully embrace through an adorable montage of moments in the first episode. And, for a time, it seems neither of them really is interested in one another beyond their friendship.

In this montage of events, we’re also introduced to the womanizing poet Gus (Ricardo Gómez), the bubbly, yet clingy bombshell Aroa (Lucía de la Fuente), and the perpetually single and arguably the most mature one of the bunch, Loren (Brays Efe). And the lovely lady this friend group is meant to be celebrating during a hastily constructed bachelorette party weekend is Blanca (Clara Sans). Like any friend group, though, it takes little time in the series to see the cracks form, a standard consequence of people knowing each other far too long. 

All The Truth In My Lies looks at a long-established group of friends and the things they’re holding onto.

An overwhelming source of drama emerges between Coco, Marin, and Aroa, the latter of whom cannot seem to let go of her obsession with Marin. In close quarters, tensions arise. The will they/won’t they of it all not only lingers over Coco and Marin, but basically begs the two to finally see what they naturally have between them. For their part, Itziar Manero and Daniel Ibáñez naturally sell the connection between the two characters, relying on subtle yet intimate physical notes that will make the viewer question everything in All The Truth In My Lies.

While it seems rather rote to position relationships as only platonic or romantic, All The Truth In My Lies prefers to linger in that binary between Coco and Marin. Undoubtedly, sticking to that lane adds a lot of suspense to see whether or not the two will figure out where each other stands. And the obstacles in the way make up a lot of the bumps they need to jump over in this quickly paced miniseries.

The biggest bump in question is Aroa, who Lucía de la Fuente infuses with a frantic earnestness that slowly gets chipped away to an overwhelming desperation. She will arguably be the most polarizing character in All The Truth In My Lies, for her unyielding attempts to monopolize Marin’s time and her refusal to respect his attempts to maintain distance are a lot to absorb when all the signs of incompatibility are there. For how grating the character is, she is arguably the most honest one in the series.

If there’s a takeaway, it’s that it is better to be honest with oneself than let things linger too long.

That’s part of the draw of Elísabet Benavent’s romance works. Known for incredibly messy characters who are figuring out their wants, desires, and who they really are at the end of the day, these creations are then rendered human on and off the page due to their many (and I mean, many) imperfections. This is very much the case here in All The Truth In My Lies, and what makes this miniseries so hard to pull away from.

The characters are messy and embarrassing. There are moments where you’ll slide into your chair and hide your face away from their shenanigans onscreen, but that is what makes for compelling, human storytelling. That, and the question of whether these flawed beings will figure out their lives by the end.

Unfortunately, since Coco, Marin, and Aroa are the focus, Blanca, Gus, and Loren read more as accessories and witnesses to this love triangle than fully fledged beings in their own right. There’s also the matter of how the series ends with a rather rushed epilogue. While it features some cute moments, it could have benefited from a slower transition to ease viewers into the future. For now, it does come across as slapped on as an afterthought. 

Set against the backdrop of a bachelorette campy getaway, All The Truth In My Lies revels in its quickly paced drama, which is entertaining to behold while also producing secondhand embarrassment at the characters’ expense. Even despite its shorter length of five episodes, not one moment is wasted in making us love, hate, and root for these characters. But like any friend group, some are more magnetic than others, leaving some character paths either unresolved or leaving us wanting something more.

All The Truth In My Lies is now streaming exclusively on Netflix.