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Preview by: Jack Foley
COLIN Firth is seeking to get away from his romantic leading
man 'nice guy' roles by shedding his clothes along with his image
for the new thriller, Where The Truth Lies.
The popular British actor plays an over-sexed, bisexual star
in the film, which was among the contenders for the top prizes
at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.
Firth made a name for himself by playing dashing romantic leads
such as Mr Darcy in the BBC's Pride & Prejudice, as well as
the love-interest of Bridget
Jones in both of those films.
Yet Where The Truth Lies, directed by Atom Egoyan, and co-starring
Kevin Bacon and Rachel Blanchard, is seen as a radical departure
and a follow-on from his grittier turn in psychological thriller,
Trauma.
The film centres around K O'Connor (Blanchard), a young journalist
known for her celebrity profiles, who becomes consumed with discovering
the truth behind a long-buried incident that affected the lives
and careers of 1950s showbiz team, Vince Collins and Lanny Morris
(played by Firth and Bacon).
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The ensuing investigation seeks to
uncover the truth about the dead woman who was inexplicably discovered
at their hotel suite and is set 15 years later, as O'Connor tracks
them down and attempts to find out what really happened.
The film features nudity and violence but is not considered by
Firth to be that much of a stretch for his skills.
Speaking at Cannes, he explained: "I feel very comfortable
in this sort of drama. The whole rom-com thing came relatively
late in my life and took me by surprise. Indeed, it still takes
me by surprise."
Yet critics have been quick to highlight the film for its graphic
sex scenes, which have been defended by the film's Canadian director,
Egoyan, as 'an essential part of the film'.
"I always saw this as a really sensual movie," he explained.
"I wanted it to be unbridled - these characters could take
any amount of drugs they wanted, they could have any amount of
sex they wanted.
"I don't know about the censors. They probably will have
issues, but we are pretty firm about what we want the film to
do."
Whether the ensuing sex scenes generate as much controversy as
one of last year's explicit entries, Nine
Songs, remains to be seen.
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