Where the Truth Lies (2005)

Karen O'Connor, a young journalist known for her celebrity profiles, is consumed with discovering the truth behind a long-buried incident that affected the lives and careers of showbiz team Vince Collins and Lanny Morris.

Director:

Atom Egoyan

Writers:

Atom Egoyan (screenplay), Rupert Holmes (novel)

Stars:

Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth, Alison Lohman

2 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Bacon	...	Lanny
Colin Firth	...	Vince
Alison Lohman	...	Karen
David Hayman	...	Reuben
Rachel Blanchard	...	Maureen
Maury Chaykin	...	Sally Sanmarco
Sonja Bennett	...	Bonnie
Kristin Adams	...	Alice
Deborah Grover	...	Mrs. O'Flaherty
Beau Starr	...	Jack Scaglia
Arsinée Khanjian	...	Publishing Executive
Gabrielle Rose	...	Publishing Executive
Don McKellar	...	Publishing Executive
David Hemblen	...	NY Hotel Concierge
John Moraitis	...	Irv Fleischman

Storyline

Karen O'Connor tells the story about two distinct but related periods in her life. In 1972, she is an up-and-coming Los Angeles based journalist who has been given the lucrative assignment of convincing once successful comic Vince Collins, who is at the tail end of his career, to allow her to ghost write his memoirs. Most specifically, she has the task from her publishers of discovering the reason behind two issues in Vince's life from 1957: why he and his former on-stage partner Lanny Morris, who is still active and well known within the entertainment business, broke up their professional partnership shortly after they hosted a successful thirty-nine hour telethon for polio research in Miami, there not having been any indication of problems between the two before that; and how did the dead body of Maureen O'Flaherty end up in the water filled bathtub in Vince and Lanny's New Jersey hotel suite, the opening of that New Jersey hotel owned by mobster Sally Sanmarco which was Lanny and ...

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Plot Keywords:

rear entry sex | breasts | lesbian cunnilingus | female rear nudity | death | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexuality, nudity, drug use and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [United States]

Country:

Canada UK

Language:

English Cantonese

Release Date:

7 October 2005 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Where the Truth Lies

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

CAD 184,496 (Canada), 9 October 2005

Opening Weekend USA:

$37,726, 16 October 2005, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$871,527, 27 November 2005

Company Credits

Production Co:

Serendipity Point Films, First Choice Films, Movie Network, The (TMN)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

An important plot twist, part of the reason the film was given an NC-17 rating in the U.S., is revealed in the documentary This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006).

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Goofs

When Maureen is in the bathtub talking to her girlfriend on the telephone, modern-day blow-molded plastic shampoo bottles can be seen on the ledge of the tub behind her.

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Quotes

Karen: [voice in her head] What have they done?
[narrating, ominously]
Karen: Once upon a time, when terrible things happened to people, they were left as a mystery. Even the tabloids kept a distance. Some things... were allowed to be left just the way they were...

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Connections

References Today (1952)

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Soundtracks

Theme for Lester Young
(1963)
Performed by Charles Mingus
Courtesy of The Verve Music Group
Licensed by kind permission from The Universal Film & TV Licensing Division
Written by Charles Mingus
Published by Jazz Workshop, Inc.

User Reviews

A Wonderful Mess

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.