Review of Where the Truth Lies (1999) by Ike O — 16 Sep 2011

I've never been a fan of Atom Egoyan. He's a bit too cerebral and spends too much time on things that just aren't that interesting. That said Where the Truth Lies is by far his best film. Spectacularly shot with some great performances to anchor it, this is a film that doesn't get to hypothetical and technical although it is still complicated and a bit hard to follow at times.

That said it is fascinating and absolutely enthralling. Alison Lohman is wonderful and commands the screen every second she's on it. My biggest problem with the film besides the slightly confusing ending is that here is a film about a taboo or at the very least tiptoed around subject dealing with bisexuality and sexual attraction and Egoyan handles this subject matter without shying away except when it comes to nudity.

How is it that a film that is so grounded in physical attraction and lust manage to have half a dozen or so full frontal shots of the female actor and not one of the males? The camera seems to always make sure to crop them at the waist, which given the framing of the female characters, seems natural and forced.

To be fair to Egoyan this is most likely to avoid the NC-17 rating, but it ruins the diegesis of the film and reminds the viewer that they're watching a film. So then I'll blame the MPAA rating system for its ridiculous regulations and hope that someday someone will knock some sense into their heads or better yet, explain to them what really is inappropriate and that censorship, which is what the existence of the NC-17 rating is no matter what they say, has no place in a democratic society.