La vérité nue

Atom Egoyan is one of my most trusted directors. He never disappoints me even when I'm not totally taken by the film. This is a perfect example of that. I loved it and hated it, all at the same time. Everything works and nothing works. Bacon and Firth couldn't be better as the Martin and Lewis, boy and girl act and yet...I didn't quite believe it. Good as they are they're not heavyweights and in my modest opinion the parts required heavyweights. I was sucked in though and enthralled by some extraordinary Egoyanesque moments with David Lynchish touches here and there. I believe the film was a flop at the box office, naturally. Too much of an adult story that demands not only full attention but participation from its audience. I will certainly see it again.

Egoyan's weakest film, at least since he came to prominence with Exotica. It's actually a somewhat interesting mystery, but it has a lot of flaws. There is a death, possibly a murder, in the hotel suite of two famous comedians (played by Colin Firth and Kevin Bacon), based on Martin and Lewis. That's the film's biggest flaw, that this completely fictional mystery uses Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis as a model. It's very distracting. The bulk of the story has a young journalist (Alison Lohman) writing the story of the two comedians, trying to solve the mystery. The film-making is pretty good, but Egoyan, except for The Sweet Hereafter, has always been a weak director when it comes to actors. Lohman, who was great in Ridley Scott's Matchstick Men, is awful here (she does get naked and have sex with a woman, though, which makes the film almost worth seeing). Kevin Bacon, who gave his best performance ever last year in the still underseen The Woodsman, isn't especially good, either. Only Firth does a good job. The film is also overscored with some very cliché mystery music. Mychael Danna's scores for Exotica and The Sweet Hereafter were brilliant; this one's a flop.

Egoyan immediately sets the noir tone of 'Where The Truth Lies' by revealing so much yet cleverly not telling anything. The film gets straight to the point right from the start as we are introduced to a Jerry Lewis Dean Martin type entertainment duo, a haunting image of a corpse in a bathtub and a determined young lady wanting to write about her idols. The slick editing allows the film to maintain its steady track. Egoyan finely contrasts the 50s and 70s. The wonderful mise en scene, flashy lighting and score bring out a 50's feel. While the score brings out a lot of mysteriousness of the 70s (the sex and drugs phase). The camera-work deserves mention. Most of the scenes of the 50's scenes were effectively done with long shots, while a lot of the 70's scenes were shot with quick snaps.

Then there's the unusual cast that includes Kevin Bacon, Alison Lohman and Colin Firth. Bacon gives an energetic performance as the younger Lanny Morris of the 50s and he brings a 'lost' maturity as the 70's Morris. While a majority have stated Lohman as being miscast, I found her to have the right combination of naivety, sex appeal and vulnerability as Karen. The actress certainly holds her own in the presence of the more accomplished actors and bravely carries the film. Firth is remarkable and he completely sheds his Darcy image and gives a more restrained (and sometimes explosive, where required) performance as Vince Collins. Rachel Blanchard demonstrates the right kind of deceitful innocence and enigma.

Some have stated the sex scenes to be of a 'cold' nature. However, I didn't see it that way. Sexuality is an integral part of the film and it is hinted that each character sees it differently. Bacon's Morris pays a lot of attention to his sexual partner's eyes and after-sex behaviour. I can't reveal much about the other characters without spilling out spoilers but their views differ. There's the frighteningly erotic love scene between Alice and Karen followed by a distraught look on Lohman's face. The last sex-scene was particularly disturbing as this is the scene that brings out their alternative side.

However, the revelation in the end was a bit of a letdown. Not because of the twist which is clever enough but the motivation behind it would have worked better had more background information been provided. Where The Truth Lies' mainly works because of Egoyan's unique presentation and storytelling, the visual flair, the performances, the score and the stunning combination of all the themes ie, sex, drugs, sexuality, murder, fame (sounds a bit clichéd but it is shown differently).

Hugely entertaining film + Bad critics + Tasteful love scenes.

I was very entertained. There wasn't a single boring minute in "Where the Truth Lies". I almost believed some newspaper critics' reviews and was prepared to be at least a little bit disappointed either with the actors (critics said were miscast), the sex scenes (critics said were explicit) or the ending. I was sitting there and waiting for a disappointment but it never came. It is a superb murder mystery with at least 3 top notch twists and in the end I was completely satisfied.

In my opinion, (and I know a thing or two about this) the love scene between "Alice" and Alison is one of the most beautiful ones ever performed (on the screen). I mean the (tastefully made) oral sex scene. ("Alice" stops for a moment, looks up at Alison with a trace of a smile ... the moonlight illuminates Alice's slightly wet mouth and chin... she looks down and continues. I haven't seen in any other film a more gorgeous pose than that of Alison during this exercise. Americans can make love as beautifully as Europeans and this film is the only proof so far. It even surpasses the straight love scene with Luisa Ranieri in Antonioni's "Eros"). The film is not about sex, though it is wonderfully choreographed. The most impressive thing here is certainly the story.

(P.S. Critics really did a disservice to us. Some of these same guys, I remember, used unbelievable superlatives while reviewing poor horror movies. One begins to question their motives).

Oh, what a difference bad casting decision can make. " Where the truth lies" had such a great potential. Two very strong leading actors, Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth, intriguing story, creative director, but... The catastrophic acting of Alison Lohman sabotaged the whole thing. The utter lack of artistic presence, wobbly, girlish voice, completely at odds with the part. There are thousands of talented young actresses, and why in the world would you cast her. There was no saving this movie after that bad decision. Two leading protagonists were doing their very best, lovely camera work brought us back to the times long gone. But to no avail.What a shame.