True Lies

About two months ago, I watched a documentary called This Film Is Not Yet Rated, that exposed me to a handful of unrated films I wouldn't have otherwise heard of. One was Where the Truth Lies, which I sat down and watched recently.

It stars Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth (now "the Academy Award winning Colin Firth") as a Martin and Lewis style comedy duo who were big in the 50s, but who have a falling out after a woman is found dead in the bathtub of their hotel suite. Fifteen years later, a young female reporter is trying to piece together the truth, interviewing one while running a con to get close to the other.

If you are a fan of film noir, you'll almost certainly want to check this movie out. The period setting isn't just important to the story, it serves the method in which the story is told. The mystery unfolds in a classic noir style, with out of order events, and not one but two character narrations.

As for what the MPAA objected to (and wanted to slap with a NC-17 rating), there is a fair amount of sexual content in the film. I'm not sure it feels notably more risque than other R rated films; certainly, it feels integral to this story, and you can see why the filmmakers chose not to cut the movie down for a more theater-friendly rating.

The story isn't entirely compelling enough to keep interest going throughout the film all on its own. That's where the exceptional performances of the leads have to pick up the slack. Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth are both great, and also strong is Alison Lohman as the reporter. Still, it's fundamentally a film noir, and strong performances can only go so far in saving a characteristically slow pace, shallow characters, and simple plot made more complex by elaborate storytelling.

I'd say this movie teeters right on the line of a B-, just a hair's breath from slipping down to a C+. But then, if you like the noir style, or really like any of the actors involved, perhaps it could slip the other way.