Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.0

The Whole Truth Blu-ray Movie Review

But nothing.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 18, 2017

I couldn’t help but have a twinge of irony seeing that The Whole Truth was written by Nicholas Kazan, since I associate his name so strongly with the far from “whole truthful” supposed biographical film Frances, a movie I’ve rather pointedly taken to task for inventing all sorts of things about the late actress Frances Farmer (enterprising Googlers should have no problem finding my research on the subject). Luckily (if that’s the right word, given the results), The Whole Truth doesn’t bear that always questionable imprimatur “based on a true story”, and so the various outlandish proceedings that accrue can be attributed to Kazan’s imagination. Kazan is an undeniably hugely gifted writer (some other fans may associate him more with his Academy Award nominated screenplay for Reversal of Fortune, a piece which supposedly stuck closer to the actual facts than Frances did), but it’s hard to see what exactly he hoped to achieve with this film, one which plays like a gussied up made for television movie at times. That proclivity is even stranger given the fact that The Whole Truth was directed by Courtney Hunt, who made such a promising feature film debut with Frozen River (earning her own Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay in the process). It’s interesting to note, however, that the IMDb also lists that Hunt directed two episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and it’s not hard to imagine that this project could have been sparked one way or the other by Hunt’s experience on the series. (It’s also interesting to note that Kazan used a pseudonym on the final credits, perhaps suggesting that somewhere along the line he became dissatisfied with what was happening to his screenplay.) The Whole Truth attempts to provide a baffling thriller ambience, but perhaps the biggest conundrum facing the audience is why so many obviously talented people ended up making such a predictable and even drab film.

Kazan is an expert at depicting moral shades of gray, as evidenced by his grimly humorous characterization of Claus and Sunny Von Bulow in Reversal of Fortune (to cite just one example). That tendency is front and center in The Whole Truth, a film that offers Keanu Reeves as an attorney named Richard Ramsey who may not be above stretching the truth a bit (or a lot) if it helps vindicate his client, a teenager named Mike Lassiter (Gabriel Basso), who has been accused of having murdered his father, Boone (Jim Belushi). There doesn’t seem to be any question that Mike actually did the deed, something that would seem to pull the suspense rug out from under this enterprise, but The Whole Truth wants to go the “unreliable narrator” (or in this case, unreliable witness) route, leading to a kind of Rashômon-esque ambience where the audience is left to ferret out what they think actually happened and why.

While large swaths of The Whole Truth play out as a courtroom procedural, an approach that in and of itself tends to focus on “machinery” rather than character, one of the interesting elements of the story is that Mike is resolutely refusing to discuss the case with anyone, let alone Ramsey, this despite (or maybe because of) the fact that he confessed to the crime virtually the moment it happened. That leaves Ramsey without his most potent defense witness, and so instead he resorts to a “blame the victim” strategy, outlining various peccadilloes of Boone, himself a gung ho lawyer whose personal life is increasingly shown to have been somewhat of a shambles. Ramsey also attempts to deconstruct a slew of actual witness testimony, figuring even the seed of reasonable doubt may be enough to win acquittal for Mike.

The Whole Truth has a supposed mind boggling twist in its final few moments which any armchair sleuth worth their Poirot collection is going to see coming from a mile (or maybe more) off. Reeves’ detached narration seems to be there to cover several important segues in the film (perhaps another indication of why Kazan didn’t want his actual name displayed), something that furthers an already detached sort of feeling that permeates the project. Basso is outstanding as the possibly abused son, but the film actually belongs to Renée Zellweger as Boone’s wife and Mike’s mother, Loretta. It’s her tangled web that actually gives the film what little energy it’s able to muster, but ultimately the film just kind of lies (pun intended) there.

Note: My colleague Brian Orndorf was evidently a little more impressed with the film than I was. You can read Brian's thoughts here.

The Whole Truth Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Whole Truth is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Once again the IMDb comes up empty with technical data, but luckily the film's cinematographer Jules O'Loughlin has his own site where he lists the Arri Alexa as the camera used on this shoot. This has the typically glossy if somewhat flat look of the Alexa, with fine detail at excellent levels during the many close-ups director Hunt employs. The courtroom scenes are just slightly desaturated looking, something that contrasts nicely with the more buttery flashback sequences, ones that are ironically lit to resemble "golden memories" when the events being depicted hardly fit that happy description. There are a couple of very brief moments (including one night scene involving Reeves and co-star Gugu Mbatha-Raw outside of an apartment house, for example) where there's very slight noise that's almost imperceptible, but overall this is a competent if never mind blowing looking presentation that offers good detail levels and few compression anomalies.

The Whole Truth Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Much like the video presentation, The Whole Truth's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is perfectly workmanlike if never really overly awe inducing. The film really doesn't have huge opportunities to exploit impressive surround effects, and therefore much of the immersion comes from the relatively cloistered confines of the courtroom, where directionality comes into play in terms of spectator sounds and the like. The film's slightly overamped score also fills the surrounds regularly, but otherwise this tends to be a more front and center sound mix that nonetheless offers dialogue perfectly cleanly, with no problems whatsoever.

The Whole Truth Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The so-called "Special Features" listed on the Main Menu of the disc turn out to be trailers for other Lionsgate releases and bookmarks, neither of which I consider a scorable supplement. And that's the truth.

The Whole Truth Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Reeves almost seems to be sleepwalking through large swaths of The Whole Truth, and the film has a kind of pall surrounding it where the perception that everyone knows things aren't quite working as well as they should be is fairly unmistakable. Nevertheless, there are some good supporting performances here, including Basso as the self confessed killer and especially Zellweger, who makes Loretta a suitably twisted character. There really aren't any surprises here, at least for those who have been down this particular thriller road before, and the film shows signs of having been pretty dramatically tinkered with at some point during the production process. Fans of the cast may be able to overlook various deficiencies, and technical merits are generally strong for those considering a purchase.