Where the Truth Lies
| Where the Truth Lies | |
|---|---|
 Where the Truth Lies film poster | |
| Directed by | Atom Egoyan |
| Written by | Atom Egoyan (screenplay) Rupert Holmes (novel) |
| Produced by | Robert Lantos |
| Starring | Kevin Bacon Colin Firth Alison Lohman |
| Distributed by | Concorde Filmverleih GmbH Roadshow Entertainment ThinkFilm Inc. |
Release dates | May 13, 2005 (Cannes Film Festival) |
Running time | 108 minutes (Canada) |
| Language | English |
| Budget | US$25,000,000 (estimated) |
Where the Truth Lies is a 2005 dramatic film directed by Academy Award-nominated director Atom Egoyan, based on the novel by Rupert Holmes. It stars Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth, Alison Lohman, David Hayman, and Maury Chaykin.
The film generated some controversy for its NC-17 rating in the United States because of a scene involving a ménage à trois. Egoyan condemned the MPAA decision as "a violent act of censorship," while Bacon stated, "I don't get it, when I see films (that) are extremely violent, extremely objectable sometimes in terms of the roles that women play, slide by with an R, no problem, because the people happen to have more clothes on." [1] Both suggested that homophobia may have played a role in the decision, as the film deals in part with homosexuality.
Plot
Template:Spoiler A girl is found dead in the hotel room of a Martin & Lewis-like comedy team. Both had alibis and neither was accused, although the death breaks up the act. Years later, a young journalist (Lohman) tries to find out the truth behind the breakup. She becomes sexually involved under false pretenses with one of the comedians, Lanny Morris (Bacon), while pursuing an interview with the other, Vince Collins (Firth), who manipulates her with sex and drugs in order to keep her from reporting what she knows, and from finding out more. When she finally puts all the pieces together, however, she finds out more than she was expecting to.
Response
The film was not widely seen, owing mostly to the NC-17 rating, widely considered a commercial "kiss of death" for a movie. Critical responses were similarly harsh; among other critics, BBCi panned it for "strained storytelling" [2], while Rolling Stone called it a "monumental misfire" and compared it with the infamous flop Showgirls [3]. Lohman's performance was also severely panned with adjectives such as "miscast" [4] and "just bad" [5].
Cast
- Kevin Bacon .... Lanny Morris
- Colin Firth .... Vince Collins
- Alison Lohman .... Karen O'Connor
- Sonja Bennett .... Bonnie Trout
- Rachel Blanchard .... Maureen O'Flaherty
- Kathryn Winslow .... Coreen