Where the Truth Lies, directed by Atom Egoyan and produced by Robert Lantos, is, at press time, facing a potentially harsh ratings decision from the Motion Picture Association of America. The sexy thriller, which premiered at Cannes and will launch in North America as a TIFF gala, could see its commercial hopes seriously undermined in the U.S. if the MPAA sticks to its plan to slap the film with an NC-17 rating (no one 17-and-under admitted). If that happens, distributor ThinkFilm would launch an appeal. Canadian audiences, however, will be able to see the director's cut at TIFF and in its commercial R-rated release, set for Oct. 7.

But a battle looms in the U.S., where the film will get a platform release starting one week later. The drama features scenes of a highly sexual nature that involve, in various carnal configurations, stars Kevin Bacon, Alison Lohman and Colin Firth. Bacon and Firth play comedy cabaret duo Lanny Morris and Vince Collins, whose top-notch act breaks up in the late 1950s after a woman is found mysteriously dead in their hotel room. Fifteen years later, reporter Karen O'Connor (Lohman) becomes involved with both men, eventually discovering "where the truth lies" in the murder of hotel waitress Maureen (Rachel Blanchard).

Based on an acclaimed novel by Broadway insider Rupert Holmes, Where the Truth Lies, which bears a $30-million budget, "is more accessible to a larger audience than the others we've worked on together," says Lantos, a half-owner in ThinkFilm, who has collaborated with Egoyan on Calendar, Exotica, The Sweet Hereafter, Felicia's Journey and Ararat. "We both want to speak to a bigger audience and this story fits within that desire."

That wish may now be imperiled if the MPAA doesn't yield on demands to cut out parts of the film's sex scenes. "NC-17 means that some theater circuits, including the largest one, Regal Cinemas, won't play it," Lantos points out. "It means Blockbuster won't carry the DVD. It means some television channels and other media, for alleged 'religious' reasons, won't carry the advertising. So there are significant consequences in the U.S."

Although there are a number of erotic situations in the film, the main area of contention centers on a scene featuring a threesome involving Bacon, Firth and Blanchard. But their encounter is not in the film for mere titillation, as it provides the motivation for the murder at the story's core.

"What's objectionable to me is that a scene that is designed to elicit an emotional response would be tampered with in any way," Egoyan says. "I don't think it's an exploitive scene at all... We live in conservative times, when what is perceived to be a transgressive sexual act can be so upsetting to people."

Cutting it out is impossible, Egoyan contends. "It's a dramatic scene and there's no other way of presenting the material," he says. The MPAA clearly doesn't agree, which surprises and upsets the director. "The thing is that the MPAA has no guidelines. I shot Where the Truth Lies fully thinking that I could deliver an R-rated film [under 17 requires an accompanying parent or adult guardian]. Even in the most draconian days of the Ontario Censor Board there was a code. With the MPAA, it is a completely subjective process."