Playback
May 23, 2005

Sexy, druggy, gory and not a genocide in sight

by Sean Davidson

Egoyan’s latest surprises at Cannes

He said this one would be different, and apparently he meant it. Atom
Egoyan’s latest – the noir-ish mystery Where the Truth Lies – landed
with a splash at this month’s Cannes film fest, turning heads with
its ample nudity, spurts of violence, drugs and sex.

It was “the sexiest film so far” at Cannes, according to the Toronto
Sun’s Bruce Kirkland, writing at about the halfway point. A “big,
slick and sexy mystery” that should have “no trouble attracting
audiences seeking high-style, grownup entertainment,” says a review
in The Hollywood Reporter.

That last part should go over especially well with Egoyan’s backers
at Telefilm Canada, where successful English-language films are still
something of a rare bird.

The picture includes one orgy, a racy and drug-fuelled lesbian
encounter and, of course, the mysterious death that sends a young
writer (Alison Lohman) digging into the past of two old-school
comedians, played by Colin Firth and Kevin Bacon.

Egoyan has always said that Truth would be more accessible than his
other pictures – compared to, say, Ararat, the tale of the Armenian
genocide, or the equally wrenching The Sweet Hereafter. It shot in
Toronto, L.A. and elsewhere last summer on a $30-million budget and
will be distributed by ThinkFilm.

Bad behavior has also paid off for David Cronenberg who, at press
time, was a strong favorite to win this year’s Palme d’Or for his A
History of Violence, about how a bloody outburst at their diner
changes an all-American family. Cronenberg is “on the top of his
game” with this one, writes the Toronto Star’s Peter Howell,
following “in the tradition of a John Ford western and Clint
Eastwood’s Unforgiven.” Violence stars Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello
and William Hurt.

Cronenberg also used the fest to announce that he is getting back to
work on Painkillers, the project he put on hold to make Violence,
again working with producer Robert Lantos, who also produced Where
the Truth Lies.

The $35-million sci-fi thriller has been on again, off again for some
time, and comes from the famously creepy director’s first original
screenplay since 1999’s eXistenZ. The story reportedly involves a
futuristic society in which surgery has become a kind of spectator
sport, replacing sex, while pain has replaced sex as the new taboo
thrill. (Yep, that sounds like our David.)

ThinkFilm is reportedly already chasing presale through its new
international sales division.

Midnight Movies by Toronto filmmaker Stuart Samuels is also playing
well in Cannes, although it is not in competition. The feature doc
about the underground films of the 1960s and ’70s – Night of the
Living Dead, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and El Topo, to name a few
– also got a warm nod from The Hollywood Reporter for its “engaging
and perceptive glimpse… into a raucous time of personal rebellion.”

“An historical essay on how these fringe Midnighters have influenced
today’s mainstream directors,” writes Duane Byrge.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress