Where the Truth Lies (2005)

How sad is this?

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

The book was a very hard read, because the narrator was such a hard-boiled, wise-cracking, quick-witted stereotypical older dame from movies in the '30s, and it was almost impossible to picture her as a young celebrity reporter in the '70s, and putting Alison Lohman in that role didn't help. I could easily see Jessica Chastain believably bringing this impossible character to life, but the job is too much for Lohman; you do not see her thinking, just remembering her lines. 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 is also difficult for someone not paying full attention to follow the events in the film, and I blame Egoyan for that, as the flow of the story is and should have been crystal clear. I could go on about the anachronisms in the wardrobe of supposedly early '70s fashions, particularly for a young reporter living in LA, but that's minor compared to the major casting error of the film's star. There is still an enthralling story and a good looking film if you are able to suspend disbelief and just go with it, and I believe it improved on the book in several ways, including the ending.

This was a great experience until the balloon popped in a lame ending.A murder mystery that jumps between periods at the drop of a hat as we follow a comedy duo's involvement in the discovery of a body in the bath of their hotel suite.It's very twisty, but entertaining too, so I was happy to keep the cogs whirring in my brain as I tried to figure it out. Sadly the cogs span too fast, and I was way down Mulholland Dr when the director forced me into a U-turn and back to an Agatha Christie style reveal.My problem was I thought I spotted some synchronicity between the victim's age, the time lapse on Firth's decision to write, the victim's would-be age at the time her mother spoke, and the year in which the victim's father and the reporter's father died. Reporter is the victim's sister, and she's in some delusional revenge nightmare! Has to be, especially with the Lynchian through-the-looking-glass moment of Alice on stage. And the title screams Unreliable Narrator. Yes?Nope. I had to ditch that and listen to Madame Poirot explain the plot in every, earnest detail.Most of it was great, some good laughs, but a big fat disappointment.

Atom Egoyan fans ofter dismiss Where the Truth Lies as his weakest film, and more jarringly - as his foray into the 'mainstream'. Where the Truth Lies is anything but mainstream, though it noticeably has a bigger budget, larger scope and especially bigger name actors than all his previous films (and only a brief cameo this time around for his wife Arsinée Khanjian). But even though he worked with a Hollywood budget and a Hollywood setting, the film is all Egoyan, and he hasn't given an inch to the American movie machine; beneath the twisting plot there's still his terrific character study and his themes of detachment, displacement and deception.Wherein lies the film's only weakness. The larger scope and more complex plot create an illusion that the plot is what counts, that this is a whodunit murder mystery rather than a character piece; and if that's the only aspect of the film that you pay attention to, you may be disappointed. The final 'reveal', in particular, is a rather weak solution to the mystery, and has been mocked by viewers and film critics. 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). Alison Lohman too, whose choice for the role was criticized by some, is fantastic, and proves herself as a serious actress for the first time - her character can be intelligent and restrained or sensual and impulsive, but she's also entirely human. As with every Egoyan film, none of the main characters are one or even two dimensional.Egoyan avoids taking the easy path with the setting too, refusing completely to turn the film into a period piece and rely on 50's and 70's clichés like so many other films with similar settings; instead he gives it its own atmosphere and draws the viewer into a unique experience. Despite its flaws, and partly because of them, Where the Truth Lies is a memorable movie that leaves a strong impression and leaves a lot of room for debate.

Actors, atmosphere, music, set, everything was on an extremely high level. Especially the witty conversations have been fun to listen to. Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth have been very convincing in their role. I can't imagine a better cast.The one thing that really spoiled the fun for me, has been the story. I like mystery stories, but none that overdo it with the mystery, and no longer make sense. The whole story was so absurd, that all the pretty conversations, lost their emotional weight, and simply went down the drain. Knowing the absurd ending, would make a second view only worse. Too bad, this could have been so much better.