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:

male nudity | voyeur | threesome | rear entry sex | breasts | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Atom Egoyan said about filming the orgy scene: "I'm convinced that the best way to shoot a sex scene and make it seem real is to use a master shot, an uninterrupted sequence with no cuts. I wanted to see the bodies. The overwhelming challenge was how to show two (and in this case even more) people having sex without depicting the act of thrusting. By its very nature, sex needs thrusting. More specifically, one part of the body must be in some form of friction with another. This isn't a very romantic way of thinking about it, but then again the MPAA isn't a very romantic organization. Their job is to count thrusts, and then decide, depending on the number, who should see the film. Nice work if you can get it."

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Goofs

Karen wears a ring on her right hand throughout the movie except when she leaves the hotel after spending the night with Lanny. When she addresses the concierge the ring is on her left hand.

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Quotes

Karen: [narrating] He had taken her life, and with that, her mother's heart, and her father's mind, and now, all that remained of Maureen was a tree in her mother's garden.

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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

Referenced in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: Where the Apple Lies (2016)

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Soundtracks

Together Wherever We Go
(1959)
Performed by The Lanny and Vince Telethon Orchestra
Music by Jule Styne
Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
(c) Norbeth Productions Inc./Stratford Music Corp./Chappell - Co. Inc./Stephen Sondheim/Williamson Music Inc.
By kind permission of Warner/Chappell Music Ltd.

User Reviews

Disappointing effort from Egoyan

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.

Details

Official Sites:

Serendipity Point Films

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 USA:

$234,461, 9 October 2005

Gross USA:

$872,142

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,487,678

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