Cinephiles who thought Atom Egoyan went off the rails with the tawdry cheese of "Where The Truth Lies" will be happy to see "Adoration," which shows the Canadian filmmaker once again in fine, austere form.

Although it's very much a "post-9/11" movie in subject matter, "Adoration" will probably remind viewers the most of Egoyan's "Exotica." Both movies feature a cast of seemingly random characters, whose mysterious connections Egoyan only gradually reveals to the audience.

Adding to the enigma of "Adoration" is that many of the scenes are shown out of chronological order, so we may know the lead-up and the aftermath to an event, but not the event itself.

Some might find this frustrating, but I really admired the way Egoyan peeled back the layers of his story, first revealing the dramatic narrative and then the emotional underpinnings that lie beneath it.

At the center of the movie is a lie. A Toronto teenager named Simon (Devon Bostick) reads an essay in his class in which he claims that, while still in his mother's womb, his Palestinian father sent his mother on a plane bound for Israel with a bomb in her suitcase.

The suitcase was discovered by airline security and the bombing was thwarted.

Except it's not true, and Simon's teacher (Arsinee Khanjian), a refugee from Lebanon, knows it's not true.

In fact, we learn it is her idea to present the fictional essay as fact to gauge the reactions from his classmates. In a sense, there's a parallel to be drawn between the terrorist prepping his unwitting wife for an attack, and the teacher prepping her student to drop his own rhetorical bombshell in the classroom, negligent to the collateral damage that might be caused.

But the story "goes viral" beyond the classroom, and soon the Internet is abuzz with angry debate about Simon's family. (Watch for the great Maury Chaykin in a cameo as a traumatized man.) Simon is being raised by his uncle, a tow-truck driver Tom (an excellent Scott Speedman), and Tom and the teacher forge an unexpected, fragile connection in the wake of Simon's lie.

There are plenty of other connections and revelations to be found in "Adoration," including one involving the teacher and Simon's real parents that stretches credulity quite a bit. But the movie really works; as we're sifting through the haunting images and trying to anticipate the answers to come, we're drawn into Egoyan's thoughtful examination of guilt and forgiveness, tolerance and intolerance.

As always, Egoyan's approach to the material is cool and deliberate, but never dull or didacting. Beneath the formal rigor of his storytelling, one does sense empathy being extended to almost all of his characters, both the guilty and the innocent. "Adoration" is a mournful and challenging film, but a merciful and rewarding one as well.

ADORATION

Stars: Devon Bostick, Scott Speedman, Arsinee Khanjian

Rated: R for language

How long: 1:40

Where: Sundance

For fans of: "The Sweet Hereafter," "Exotica," delayed gratification

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