Where the Truth Lies [DVD]

While not on the same lengths as Cronenberg's latest foray, A History of Violence, Atom Egoyan pulls off a decent Canadian feature with this film, and heightens it with a great acting talent of Colin Firth and the man who knows everyone and one of my personal favorite actors (and pincushions), Kevin Bacon.

While the storyline becomes a little convoluted half-way through, the performances and presentation of the film keep up throughout. The dual narration is annoying at first, but becomes acceptable after a few minutes. The presentation of the 1950s settings, and the 1970s settings were done well. While some of the costumes are off in some areas, in others, they are spot-on. It makes you wonder why Oscar skipped over the film (until you watch it all, and then realize why). Alison Lohman is alright here, but she was much better in Matchstick Men, if for only the fact that she looks to young for her own good (and after the things she does, and has done to her in this film, she looks way too young for her own good). For this reason, she has a really hard time carrying the film, and has an even harder time acting against Firth and Bacon. Rachel Blanchard is sadly underused, as is Firth, but the rest of the supporting cast has just enough time needed to stretch.

The film's graphic nude and sex scenes are up to par with Cronenberg, and make an interesting comparison. Were they really attempting to compete, or was it just a subtle irony that both of the films came out over a year ago, and had their first screenings at Cannes? In the end, the whole thing sadly just looks very little in comparison to Violence, and that's the unfortunate thing because they were just destined to be compared.

I know that the NC-17 rating of the film made a big scandal and controversy among fans. While most of the time the rating is all a bunch of bull, quite often movies that lack in the story, acting or budget make up for it in explicit sex scenes (which is what got this film its rating), language or gore, and the plot gets lost somewhere in between all these distractions. I suppose it is all personal taste, and different people love or hate this movie for various reasons. To me, it is a combination of reasons. The only "REALLY" good thing about it was the cast, and as much as I like the actors, they were not enough to save it. But, the film is done averagely well, and deserves a look.

I saw this at the cinema and was engrossed and intrigued. I just had to get the DVD to see if my hunches were right.

It's 1957. Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth play a famous TV double-act, adored by the nation. A young woman dies in their hotel suite. The double-act breaks up. Why? Fast-forward to 1972, when both men are separately reputedly writing their memoirs. Will the truth come out? Alison Lohman thinks she's on to the reason why one of America's greatest entertainment institutions foundered.

This is a modern (2005) film noir about murder, mystery, and the cynicism of fame. Shot in colour, it's beautifully filmed with many period touches. Clues abound throughout the film, but it's only at the end that it all adds up. Consequently, it's a film to watch a number of times to see something new and different.

The acting is top-notch; Bacon and Firth are totally believable as the buddies whose partnership turned sour over one night's excess. It is wonderfully slow and languorous movie, helped by a wonderful soundtrack by Mychael Danna.

It's classified as 18 because it "contains strong sex and drug use"; some of the cast `swing both ways', but I do not see why this film should not have been a 15.

There are four extras: 1. a refreshingly commentary-free `making of ...' (five minutes); 2. deleted scenes (ten minutes); 3. a ten-minute featurettes with the actors, director and producer; and 4. a twelve-minute unedited B-roll, which is kind of a continuation of 1.

A film noir murder mystery involving a Martin & Lewis type comedy team, March 1, 2006
There is a problem with "Where the Truth Lies" that you might not be able to get past, namely the selling point of the story in Hollywood terms. This would be that a dead woman is found naked in the bathtub of a suite about to be occupied by the comedy team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, and the question is whether it was one, the other, or both that killed her. The names of the comedy team in this 2005 film noir are Vince Collins (Colin Firth) and Lanny Morris (Kevin Bacon), but if you do not see the parallels between Collins & Morris and Martin & Lewis before they are hosting a telethon for polio, then you are simply too young to remember Martin & Lewis.

Now, the real hook of this film noir is not that the leads are modeled on Martin & Lewis, but that Collins & Morris both have air tight alibis for the murder. They spent 39 hours doing their telethon in Miami and as soon as it was over were escorted to the airport, flown to New York City, and driven to Atlantic City where the body was discovered. The only thing is that the dead girl worked at the hotel in Miami, and had wanted to interview the two stars for her school paper. The official story smells, and whatever the truth might be it cannot be good. Soon after the telethon and the discovery of the dead girl, Collins & Morris broke up. There has to be a connection, although clearly it is under so many layers (for one thing, the naked body in the bathtub is completely submerged with its eyes opened, which not only looks freaky, but think about how something like that could actually happen)..

Fifteen years later Karen O'Connor (Alison Lohman), another young reporter, has wrangled a book deal for Collins, with the understanding that he will have to talk about Morris and the death of Maureen O'Flaherty (Rachel Blanchard, putting her "7th Heaven" days well behind her). O'Connor has just met Morris on a Pan Am flight (nice use of the way they served meals on flights back then to advance the story) as a one-night-stand. However, she actually knows them from way back: she was one of the children with polio on the fatal telethon. These men have always been heroes to her, and we do get to see them during their glory days in flashbacks, but the more she learns the harder it looks like they are going to fall.

Director Atomy Egoyn ("The Sweet Hereafter"), who did the screenplay from the novel by Rupert Holmes, does not give you enough clues to figure out whodunit in this somewhat different film noir. This is a mystery where you are along for the ride, because keeping up with the twists and turns in this one is just going to give you a headache. How this is different from most film noirs is that the sleuth is not Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe, but a young woman who is in way over her head Additionally, Karen is doing this not for herself or for the dead Maureen, and she is not doing it for the truth. She is doing it for Maureen's mother, who has been told her daughter committed suicide and has had to deal with her husband going insane. All of this underscores that O'Connor is not a professional, let alone a seasoned one, which explains some of her youthful mistakes (as a general rule, reporters do not take drugs with their subjects), but she also has the tenacity to find the truth and the youthful idealism to know what to do when she finds it.