Where the Truth Lies

Canadian director Atom Egoyan's cinematic roman B clef involves the long-buried reasons behind the breakup of a 1950s comedy team obviously modeled on Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Presented as an investigation conducted some 15 years after the event (the breakup occurred in 1957, with a book researcher uncovering what supposedly happened in 1972), it's intended to be a scandalous puzzle involving a murdered young woman in which the pieces only gradually fall into place as narrative feints and sleights of hand are swept away (it's hardly accidental that the words “truth” and “lies” are both included in the title).  But from a filmmaker as idiosyncratic as Egoyan, the movie comes across as more divertissement than masterwork, a mostly fun film that ultimately feels like a cheeky stunt, one that is further undercut by miscasting: Kevin Bacon, while an extraordinarily talented actor, seems wrong for the Lewis figure, and the Martin character's purported charm eludes Colin Firth. The picture looks lovely, but the period detail often seems slightly off, so that while this is superficially engaging, the movie ends up being a very thin, surprisingly ramshackle contrivance, especially in view of Egoyan's (Exotica, The Sweet Hereafter) distinguished rJsumJ. Optional. [Note: Available in either unrated or R rated versions, DVD extras include a 16-minute “making-of” featurette, two deleted scenes (11 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a slight extras package for one of Egoyan's lesser efforts.] (F. Swietek)