Barnes & Noble

The most accessible film to date directed by indie favorite Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter), Where the Truth Lies bears certain thematic and stylistic resemblances to Citizen Kane, although drawing any real comparison between the two would be presumptuous to say the least. It begins in the 1970s, when young celebrity journalist Karen O'Connor (Alison Lohmann) accepts a million-dollar contract to write about the once-wildly popular team of Lanny Morris (Kevin Bacon) and Vince Collins (Colin Firth). Fifteen years before, while at the height of their popularity, the two volatile performers split up after a naked woman was found dead in the bathtub of their luxurious hotel suite. Although cleared of any wrongdoing in what was declared an accidental death, Lanny and Vince never got back together -- and O'Connor is determined to find out why. The source novel by Rupert Holmes (yes, the "Piña Colada Song" guy) was clearly based on Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, but the casting of Britisher Colin Firth as a handsome but periodically violent crooner pretty much alters Holmes's vision, as does Kevin Bacon's unsympathetic depiction of funnyman Lanny as a compulsive womanizer. Egoyan adopts the Kane model of jumping back and forth in time as various aspects of the story present themselves, expanding on the journalist's role and making her an active participant in the Morris-Collins psychodrama. Casting Bacon and Firth against type works well for the director, and Lohmann's contribution is significant as well. This is an off-trail but compelling drama, one that barely saw theatrical release but will undoubtedly find a receptive audience on DVD. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

A reporter unexpectedly gets a personal perspective on a legendary show-business story in this adaptation of Rupert Holmes' novel, scripted and directed by noted Canadian independent filmmaker Atom Egoyan. In the mid-'50s, Lanny Morris (Kevin Bacon) and Vince Collins (Colin Firth) were a wildly popular comedy team who suddenly and unexpectedly broke up at the peak of their popularity. Fifteen years after Morris and Collins called it quits, journalist Karen O'Connor (Alison Lohman), who has earned a reputation for her celebrity exposés, wants to write about the true story of what happened with Morris and Collins -- and to her surprise, her publisher tells her Collins has agreed to co-author the book for a cool million dollars. The only catch is that Collins has to tell the full truth about a very large skeleton in the team's closet -- a beautiful naked woman was found drowned in the bathtub of Morris and Collins' hotel suite shortly before they broke up the act, and while the comics were cleared of any wrongdoing, rumors about the incident followed them for years. As O'Connor and Collins complete their book, they learn to their surprise that Morris has opted to write a book of his own about the team's career; eager to learn what Morris has to say, O'Connor meets him posing as a schoolteacher, and soon falls into an unexpected romantic relationship with him. O'Connor soon finds herself playing two sides against one another as she tried to learn the truth about two men with dark and scandalous pasts. Where the Truth Lies became the subject of unexpected controversy when the MPAA gave the film an NC-17 rating due to a brief scene involving a ménage à trois; the film earned significantly more lenient rating in other countries. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 043396131194
• Source: SONY PICTURES
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Français
• Time: 1:46:00
• Sales Rank: 56,315

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