Susan Granger’s review of “Where the Truth Lies” (ThinkFilm)
Purporting to peek behind the ’50s break-up of a celebrated Hollywood performing team, Canada’s Atom Egoyan concocts a sordid, scandalous showbiz tale of deception and depravity.
So instead of Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis, there’s cool British straight man Vince Collins (Colin Firth) and his zany, Jewish partner, Lanny Morris (Kevin Bacon), who raise lots of money for polio doing a yearly telethon and enjoy a well-earned reputation for boffing the ladies and bashing the gentlemen. More than 15 years after their comedy act split up, an aspiring journalist (Alison Lohman) is determined to find out what happened the night a naked Miami room-service waitress (Rachel Blanchard) was mysteriously found dead in their bathtub in a New Jersey hotel.
Inspired by Rupert Holmes’ novel, writer/director Atom Egoyan has created a disjointed narrative that careens back and forth through time – from the ’50s to the ’70s – creating an awkwardly melodramatic atmosphere that never quite rings true, except for Lanny’s poignant, “Having to be a nice guy is the toughest job in the world when you’re not.” As the investigative reporter who do anything to get her scoop, Alison Lohman is too breathy and guileless to be credible. While it’s feasible that they’d enjoy a seamy menage a trois with the waitress, there’s no way these cynical veterans, nor Lanny’s longtime valet (David Hayman), would “confess” to her.
While this sly suspension of disbelief is difficult to overcome, Bacon and Firth deliver effectively. Kudos to Paul Sarossy’s noir’ish photography, Phillip Barker’s lush production design and Mychael Danna’s suspense-filled music. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Where the Truth Lies” is a slick, sleazy 7 that’s been released unrated by the MPAA.
