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 | voyeur | 

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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:

21 December 2005 (France)

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,The Movie Network (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

The dates given in the movie are inconsistent. The telethon takes place Veterans Day weekend, November, 1957. It is stated that telethon finished on noon that Sunday, which, according to the calendar, would be November 10th. However the date on the room service bill signed the previous afternoon for Maureen is also dated November 10th. And when the duo are asked to open the New Jersey night club on November 15th, they respond they can't because that is the next day after the telethon ... and that date is inconsistent with both the calendar and the room service bill.

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Quotes

Lanny Morris: I don't eat lobster.

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Alternate Versions

In the United States, the MPAA cut the film for an R rating. However, the original uncut version was later released unrated on DVD. Some international versions, including the UK version, are the original uncut version.

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Connections

References Today (1952)

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Soundtracks

Sanctuary
(1972)
Performed by The Mahavishnu Orchestra
Courtesy of Sony BMG Music Entertainment (UK) Ltd.
Composed by John McLaughlin
(c) Warner/Chappell North America Ltd.
By kind permission of Warner/Chappell Music Ltd.

User Reviews

Hugely entertaining film + Bad critics + Tasteful love scenes.

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).