SEX, LIES AND AN UNUSUAL TAKE: EGOYAN SUSPECTS THE FURORE OVER HIS FILM IS DUE TO THE WAY THE SEX SCENES WERE SHOT
Ong Sor Fern , Film Correspondent

The Straits Times (Singapore)
April 26, 2006 Wednesday

EVER since his new film debuted at the Cannes Film Festival last May,
arthouse director Atom Egoyan has been talking about sex.

Over the telephone from his office in Toronto, the amiable 46-year-old
Canadian reveals a lively sense of mischief when he talks about
shooting explicit sex scenes.

‘It’s very liberating. I have fun and just enjoy it. Especially
knowing your characters are going to be punished for it and not you,’
the Egypt-born, Canada-raised Armenian chuckles uproariously.

Where The Truth Lies, which opened here last Thursday, is the most
mainstream offering from the director better known for boutique
arthouse fare like Exotica (1994) and the Oscar-nominated The Sweet
Hereafter (1997).

It tells of a journalist (Alison Lohman) who is determined to ferret
out the story behind the break-up of celebrated comedy act Vince
Collins (Colin Firth) and Lanny Morris (Kevin Bacon).

The truth involves a lot of torrid sex, including a three-way between
Firth, Bacon and actress Rachel Blanchard and a steamy lesbian scene
for Lohman.

In the United States, the censors slapped the movie with an NC17
rating instead of the Restricted rating the distributor was hoping for.

NC17 bars those under 17 from entry and is often associated with
pornographic films while an R rating allows minors entry if accompanied
by adults.

In the end, the film was released unrated in its original edit in the
US. In Singapore, the film has been passed uncut with an R21 rating.

The director says he is still bemused over the furore.

‘I’ll never know exactly why we fell afoul of them. My suspicion is
that they are not used to seeing actors of this renown in scenes that
are so exposed and shot in a high Hollywood studio style.

‘We’ve come to expect sex scenes to be shot in a very gritty way.

That may be the shock of the scenes.’

For the director, the sex was only part of the story he was trying
to tell in this adaptation of Rupert Holmes’ novel of the same name.

What intrigued him about the book was its insider’s perspective on
the cult of celebrity. Holmes is also a pop star best known for his
1979 novelty hit Escape (The Pina Colada Song).

Egoyan, who is married to actress Arsinee Khanjian, says: ‘What’s
interesting to me is not that we need celebrities, but what is the
toll on these human beings that we put into this position?

‘Are they capable of withstanding these pressures, especially when
they are the subject of so much projection, the contrast between the
very, very public and the very, very private in their lives.’

In his script adaptation, he chose to expand on the character of the
young journalist in order to explore this theme.

The director, who has also written original scripts, has made two
other book adaptations, The Sweet Hereafter (1997) and Felicia’s
Journey (1999).

Asked whether he prefers creating stories or adapting someone else’s
work, there is a thoughtful pause before he launches into a lengthy,
reasoned response.

‘Writing your own script, you are faced with a lot of moments of
crises. You always have to justify why the story needs to be told.

When you are adapting, its right has already been ascertained by
another artist.’

He adds a heartfelt confession: ‘I feel much more vulnerable when
I’m writing my own scripts.’

Besides less worry over the story, this film offered him a chance to
make old-school Hollywood glamour.

The detail-oriented director confesses that he was obsessed with things
like diffusion and colour lenses in order to achieve the right look
for the film.

‘Much of this film is told from the point of view of Lanny. Certainly
if he was hiring a director, he wouldn’t hire Atom Egoyan. He would
hire Stanley Donen or Vincente Minnelli,’ he laughs self-deprecatingly,
naming two directors who shaped the legendary MGM musicals of the
1950s.

But with this sleek film, he proves Lanny wrong.

Where The Truth Lies is showing in cinemas.

sorfern@sph.com.sg

‘My suspicion is that they are not used to seeing actors of this
renown in scenes that are so exposed and shot in a high Hollywood
studio style’.