Where the Truth Lies

Plot synopsis:
In 1957, immediately after co-hosting a 39-hour-long polio telethon in a Miami television studio, entertainers Lanny Morris and Vince Collins fly north to open the new showroom of a New Jersey hotel run by mobster Sally Sanmarco, who has intimidated them into appearing in order to improve his own image. In their New Jersey hotel suite, shortly after their arrival, the nude body of Miami college student Maureen O'Flaherty is found in a bathtub.
Maureen, an aspiring journalist working for the summer as a server at the comedy team's Miami hotel (which is also owned by Sanmarco), had been researching an article for her school newspaper on the comedy team, and had interviewed them in Miami just before she disappeared. Police investigation in no way connects either Morris or Collins to Maureen's death, which is officially attributed to a drug overdose. Soon after her body is discovered, the two men's comedy partnership is dissolved, despite their enormous success and the closeness of their dependence on one another.
Many unanswered questions remain for the investigators of Maureen's death; the most confusing aspect is how Maureen's body made it from Miami to New Jersey at the same time the comedians were traveling.
Fifteen years later, journalist Karen O'Connor, who as a young polio survivor first met the duo at the same telethon portrayed in the movie's opening sequence, accepts a job to ghostwrite Vince Collins' autobiography—a deal from which Collins will earn $1 million, which he badly needs. Karen makes a promise to Mrs. O'Flaherty that she will find the truth of how her daughter Maureen died. The project is complicated by the fact that she keeps receiving anonymously sent chapters from a book that Lanny Morris himself has written.
Karen, who has idolized the comedians ever since first meeting them, encounters Morris, accompanied by his faithful valet Reuben and manager Irv, by chance in the first-class section of a flight, where she shares a dinner table with them. Wishing to keep her identity secret, during the meal she introduces herself as "Bonnie Trout," the name of the best friend with whom she has traded apartments. Morris and Karen hit it off and have sex in his hotel. He disappears the next morning, apparently without leaving her a note.
Under her own name, Karen begins to work on the Collins autobiography. Complications arise when Collins invites her to an all-day working session at his Los Angeles home and she learns that Morris will be joining them as well. Near panic ensues; she abruptly invents an excuse to leave, but meets Morris in the driveway, and her masquerade is revealed—Morris discovers she has lied about who she is, and Collins discovers that the woman helping him write his memoirs is having or has had an affair with his ex-partner.
Collins agrees to continue with the book, but creates a situation to blackmail Karen into staying away from the story of Maureen O'Flaherty, which is Karen's consuming interest. After plying Karen with wine and drugs, Collins manipulates her into having sex with a young aspiring singer named Alice. He photographs the two women in compromising positions. Karen is told that unless she tells the publisher that there is nothing odd or improper surrounding Maureen's death, he will make the pictures public.
Karen discovers that Maureen had secretly recorded her interactions with Morris and Collins. Gradually, it becomes clear what really happened that night 15 years before: the three had engaged in a ménage à trois, fueled by drugs and booze, and at some point Collins tried to have sex with Morris, who resisted violently. Collins retreated to his room, whereupon Maureen tried to blackmail Morris into paying to keep this information a secret. (In 1957, it would have finished Collins professionally if it had come out that he was bisexual.) Morris tried to bribe Maureen to stay quiet but she wanted more money than he was either willing or able to give. Collins passed out in his room, Morris in his, and Maureen fell asleep on the couch. In the morning, she was dead.
Fifteen years later, Karen has begun to uncover the story. She discovers more about Morris' "fix-it man," Reuben. While both Morris and Collins were convinced the other murdered Maureen, they smuggled her body in a crate full of lobsters (a gift from Sanmarco) with Reuben's assistance, shipping it ahead of them to the New Jersey hotel. The tape recorder was on during the entire night, but the tape has been missing all these years.
Reuben confesses to Karen that he murdered Maureen to protect his employers' reputations, and produces the tape to confirm his guilt. He asks Karen if her publishing company will pay him, say, $1 million for the tape. Karen puts two and two together and realizes that Reuben was blackmailing Collins, demanding $1 million to keep quiet his bisexuality, proven on the tape, and perhaps his having murdered Maureen. (Collins was so drunk and drugged during that episode that he plainly does not remember what happened.) Reuben was demanding a million dollars for a murder he himself committed.
In the end, Collins is indeed destroyed, committing suicide. Morris is furious at Karen for all that she has set in motion, and Karen has the answer to her mystery. She goes to Mrs. O'Flaherty, saying she will publish the truth but only after an innocent bystander has died—referring to Maureen's mother herself, who would be crushed to learn of her daughter's behavior that contributed to her own death.

Tags: melodrama, violence, queer, murder, flashback

Review:
Not really, but hey better safe than sorry.Here is a movie so delightful, messy, strange, sexy, and all together not quite there; that it makes me glad that films like it are still being made.Egoyan soaks the film with a shining visual flare, and the characters leap off screen demanding to be fantastic.
The movie could have been all style and intrigue and little substance; but since Egoyan is directing, the sexual scenes are handled deeply, the drugs are films in full glory, and poignancy creeps in through cracks of the story.Alison Lohman, who was SO good in the vastly underrated "Matchstick Men" has a good part here as a young journalist still somewhat infatuated with Lanny and Vince's famous duo.
He has a speech on what he sees in Maureen's eyes in a key moment, that at first seems ridiculous and distant, but had me coming back and appreciating it more and more.Overall, if you like the looks of the film/story/trailer/or even cover, it certainly delivers, and you will love it.
Another great work by Atom Egoyan, based on the novel by Rupert Holmes.Knowing a little about the plot before seeing the film my big question/concern was "Kevin Bacon"?
But it didn't take long before Egoyan's primary cast selection (including Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth, and Alison Lohman) was clearly calculated and well thought.Some might call this Egoyan's 'most mainstream' work to date, but it retains many of the qualities we've come to expect from him.
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).
He will certainly be nominated for an Academy Award, and unless another actor comes forward with a role of a lifetime, it would be no surprise if he cops the statue, especially considering his recent work in Mystic River, for which he was overlooked.Colin Firth is a star in his own right, shining brilliantly as Lanny's road dog Vince Collins, perhaps the film's most intriguing, complex character study.
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.
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)..
In my views, this movie could not have been any worse since, at the end of the day, it leaves the viewers with the impression, not only of having wasted both their time and money, but also of having been crooked.The truth actually lies beneath: Some might interpret this as lack of subtlety or nuance, but, after having thought of this for a couple of hours, I could only come up with the conclusion that this movie is extremely poor in nearly every single way: the script is rather poor, the editing is artificial, misleading and annoying, the acting is extremely poor (at least as far as Alison Lohman is concerned), the music is banal, the costumes and the make up are off.Indeed, the script is in fact frustratingly simple and should have been the object of a short: a young journalist investigates a crime and unveils the criminal after a couple of interviews.
In fact, they only make the story more difficult to understand, without making it more appealing.The truth is that the ending does not surprise anyone, not only because it is not original, but above all because most viewers have lost interest after 40 minutes.Indeed, they are introduced to a young journalist, Alison Lohman, who is, they are told, a young and unexperienced journalist who is given the task of drafting a one million dollars biography of a TV star.
Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth were perfectly fine (as actors) and did a good job, but I really thought the plot was very very boring.
There are good bits in Where the Truth Lies that give you an insight into what the film could have been, but they are too sparse to salvage this confusing and ultimately implausible thriller.Fans of Atom Egoyan's work will relish the chance to see him in action again, but it is Egoyan himself, as both scriptwriter and director, who ruins what could have been an intelligent whodunnit.It is worth going into the plot to explain exactly why it doesn't work.Alison Lohman plays a former polio sufferer and journalist who, years after she appeared on a telethon featuring a pair of variety stars, decides to write a book about what they are really like.
And what on earth is going on when a children's hospital hosts a production of Alice in Wonderland with a woman singing a trippy version of Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit?The acting isn't bad - indeed Firth and Bacon are rather good - but it fails to make an unlikely script appear anything but contrived and, occasionally, unintentionally funny.It doesn't help that the film is told in a confusing series of flashbacks, some of which didn't happen at all.
Egoyan's screenplay benefits from three terrific lead performances by Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth and Alison Lohman (so very good in "White Oleander","Matchstick Men").Bacon and Firth play the fictional team of Lanny Morris and Vince Collins who are national sensations thanks to their mob-run nightclub and telethon act.
Years later, Lohman's character enters as a journalist out to write a story on the truth behind the comedy team and especially that night in the hotel.
What she finds out about the performers and herself is the juicy fun part of the movie.Egoyan brilliantly mixes in the nightclub act of their wonder years, with the agony of the 70's as both Lanny and Vince try to find meaning in their lives.
I will not discuss the story anymore, other than to say it is creative, thought-provoking with a stunning performance by Kevin Bacon and very strong leads from Firth and Lohman..
If you're looking for a souped up version of Body Heat though, you'll probably be disappointed.So I start with a 10 for interesting story and great performances from Firth and Bacon.
One of the thing's I've always liked about him as an actor is once you've seen a movie and know the ending, you can re-watch it and see an even more layered performance than you first realized because his character was fully there from scene one.
Although there are a few moments where she does come forward, and one of them is during her exceptionally strong sex scene.There's nothing hidden in this movie, that's clear from the plot itself, it's uncovering the truth behind the story that has remained covered up for so long, and with that many things are laid bare.
It's these aspects of the movie that slowly capture you and pull you into the story, and it's these elements that are fascinating to watch.I'd highly recommend this movie for its richness and attention to detail alone, but it's true fascination is in the acting combination of Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth who are extremely good on screen.
But I think Atom really knew how to tell a story in an interesting way and did it well.Although I saw it first in private crew/cast screening, I went again when it was released in the theatre, the same day I saw another movie directed by another well-known Canadian director just for comparisons.
The script is clunky, with lots of "dialogue" that maybe looked good on the page, but sounds like somebody's reading a novel on screen.People have complained here about Lohman's performance, but if Vanessa Redgrave had been given this script I'm sure the mouthsful of dialogue would have made her belch.The direction is slow and laborious, the characters aren't at all complex, and the music, my god, the music is SO intrusive.
Aside for this little mismatch of movie and book and the fact that the movie is a bit too long for my taste, it's a pretty OK movie.Both Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth (thank God, this is not another of his romantic movies) are playing great, even if they are not the lead.
While not on the same lengths as Cronenberg's latest foray, A History of Violence, Atom Egoyan still pulls off quite a great Canadian feature with this film, and only heightens the excellent 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.
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 right on par with Cronenberg, and make an interesting comparison.
I was hoping this film would live up to the high standard set by the first two Atom Egoyan films I'd seen, The Sweet Hereafter and Felicia's Journey; but unfortunately, Where the Truth Lies is a film with bags of style, but almost nothing in terms of substance and despite a focus on characters; the film feels very flat and pointless by the time the conclusion to the sophomoric mystery plot is finally revealed.
Their partnership ended fifteen years ago, and sexy female journalist Karen O'Connor decides to research the life of one of the partners, and get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding the death of a young girl whose body was found in the bathtub of the partners' hotel room on the night after a big TV show that the couple were doing.This film isn't a complete loss, and that is thanks to the way in which it is filmed.
**SPOILERS** Behind the scenes movie to one of show business' most shocking episode that took place on the eve of the legendary Vince Collins & Lenny Morris, Colin Firth & Kevin Bacon,Polio Telethon; the mysterious death of 23 year old collage student and editor of her collage paper Maureen O'Flaherthy, Rachel Blanchard.Getting themselves up to finish the grueling 39 straight hour Veterans Day Polio Telethon the two comics, Morris & Collins,in their hotel suite at the Miami Versailles Hotel popped themselves up with uppers and had a whole load of hookers sent up, courtesy of hotel owner and mob boss Sally Sanmarco,Maury Chaykin,to both party and loosen up for the big shows grand finale televised live on network TV.
One of the girls who stayed up in Morris & Collins room was a pretty hotel worker Maureen O'Flaheraty who ended up not only not surviving the evening but some 1,000 miles away the next afternoon at Sally's majestic Palace Del Sol Hotel in Atlantic City dead as a doornail and cold as a block of ice in the couples, Morris & Collins, hotel suite.The movie then goes to 1972 15 years into the future as magazine writer Karen O'Connor, Alison Lohman, is assigned by a major publishing company to write her first book the biography of Vince Collins, with Vince's help, and the story behind the O'Flaherty death and what exactly both Lenny Morris and Vince Collins had, if anything, to do with it.
The film's okay for the first half or so, but as more is revealed, less comes forth.Now, the movie's good for one thing: Lohman is very fine indeed, and she has some very, very nice sex scenes.
Starring: Kevin Bacon, Alison Lohman, Colin FirthFirth and Bacon play Vince Collins and Lanny Morris, a famous comedic duo, who, in the 1950s, were best known for their work hosting Polio telethons.
If you want to measure how bad a movie Atom Egoyan's Where the Truth Lies really is, imagine this story directed by other filmmakers.
Egoyan is so lost in his dubious concepts about "Film Noir," he's blind to the ineptness of his grotesque casting, (except for Kevin Bacon), ridiculously convoluted use of multiple voice-overs, and most importantly, his disconnection from the crazy mix of vulgarity and haunted beauty that makes show business stories like Sunset Boulevard, L.A. Confidential, and Mulholland Drive fascinating..
Where the Truth Lies may sound as a noir mystery,but in this film,the resolution of the crime is not so important.The crime is like a basis of a story more interested in examining the complex relationships between the characters of the movie.Director Atom Egoyan previously used his talent in some movies with a strong social content.Where the Truth Lies does not have that but the thing that assembles it with the Egoyan's other movies I have seen is the narrative complexity.Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth bring excellent performances but Alison Lohman did not convince me on her character.I totally understand that a young blonde woman was necessary for the role,but Lohman was not appropriate for the role.She does not have much presence and she cannot express all the complexity her character has.The scenes between reporter Karen and her friend are unnecessary and the inclusion of the mother of the victim feels out of place.Still with that,Where the Truth Lies is a very interesting and challenging experience in where a lot of things are left to the spectator's imagination..
And though Dean and Jerry were no doubt very different people off camera, one can only hope and pray they were nothing like the creepy counterfeit comics portrayed in TRUTH by the terribly miscast non-comedy, non-team of Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth.
When a great director sells out, you end up with a piece of arty trash like "Where the Truth Lies." Atom Egoyan has directed one masterpiece ("The Sweet Hereafter'), one sublime piece of aching erotic artistry ("Exotica"), and one underrated gem of a message movie ("Ararat").
This is one of those films where every single character is a cliché and the filmmakers try to dispel this with voice-overs announcing, "I know this sounds like a cliché, but..." Indeed, and I know this looks like a good movie, but....Egoyan does attempt to put his own stamp on the proceedings with his typical use of multiple narrators and flashback/flash-forward/collapsing-in-on-the-climax style of storytelling, but it oddly falls flat since this tale of unearthing the dark secrets of a famous comedy duo isn't as tantalizing as the storytellers so desperately want it to be.
Part of the entertainment of the film is wondering just how bad Lohman's line readings are going to get with each passing scene (at some points she is so lifeless I felt like she might fall asleep), and how many more beautiful blonds they can parade on screen to have sex with an ultra sleazy and totally unappealing Kevin Bacon.
The sex is good, and the lobsters deliver.With a better screenplay it could have been a great film in the class of LA Confidential, The Big Sleep or Mulholland Drive - that it fails so comprehensively must cast doubt on Egoyan's ability as a director, since the cast (apart from Alison Lohman) deliver really good performances, and it looks fabulous throughout.
Two very strong leading actors, Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth, intriguing story, creative director, but...
In 1972, a reporter (Alison Lohman) interviewed two comedians (Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth) that fifteen years before broke up a partnership of success, for reasons that might or not involve the lady that worked for the hotel found dead in the room of the pair.
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.
Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth are brilliant as the two male leads, and Alison Lohman is perfect in the role of the enquiring reporter.
Atom Egoyan, an enigmatic director known for probing the psychology of relationships, branches out further with "Where the Truth Lies," a superb crime thriller with outstanding performances.Alison Lohman plays a journalist probing the breakup of a 1950s Martin and Lewis-style comedy team, played by Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth.
If you consider the ending in the context of the characters and the relationships between them, though, it works pretty well (though it's still probably the weakest element of the film).Seeing as the film is a study of characters and human relations first and foremost, a lot of it hangs on the acting, and Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth both pull amazingly good performances, maybe the best of both their careers (up to, maybe, The King's Speech).
Bacon impersonates Jerry Lewis, both old and young versions, without going into caricature, while Colin Firth's character is his own creation, and they carry the film, even though it should be on Lohman's shoulders all the way.
It's 1972 L.A. Karen O'Connor (Alison Lohman) is writing about entertainment duo Lanny Morris (Kevin Bacon) and Vince Collins (Colin Firth).
This gets a 5 only because Firth's and Bacon's performances could make any movie seem good.
Atom Egoyan's movie 'Where the Truth Lies' tells the story of an ambitious journalist investigating (in the 1970s) the break up of a once-successful entertainment double act, which had happened in the aftermath of a suspicious death fifteen years before.
Fifteen years later, a young journalist (Alison Lohman) wants to interview Collins for a book and begins to probe the mysterious death.Bacon and Firth are both fine actors, but they are wasted in this terrible film.
The film looks great with it's sets and costumes and the acting isn't terrible, but the big problem lies with the story.
Alison Lohman is a young journalist trying to find out "Where the Truth Lies" in this 2005 film starring Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth and Maury Chaykin.