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A moody, psychological study of one man's all-consuming guilt and obsessions.
Francis, a tax accountant whose wife and child have both died, finds himself
irresistibly drawn to a local strip joint known as "Exotica".
Every night he goes there to gaze upon Christina, a friend of his deceased
daughter whose performance consists of shedding the little-girl costume
she wears onstage. But the dancer's ex-boyfriend, disturbed by Francis's
creepy presence, demands that he stay away from both the club and the young
woman. So Francis hires a friend to keep an eye on Christina and report
all her doings to him. However, he still cannot accept the loss of his child
nor keep his mind off Christina. It's almost as if only death and Christina's
fall from grace sustain him. |
Exotica is
my choice for Canada’s greatest film. It is also directed by my
choice for Canada’s greatest director. Atom Egoyan spins a tale
of mystery and suspense that is a pleasure to watch. Although the main
setting for the movie is a strip club in Toronto called Exotica, the film
is not a sex trade movie.
The main plot of the
movie is the murder of a little girl and how that tragedy effects (directly
or indirectly) the psychological make up of all the main characters. You
do not find this out until the very end and this is where the genius of
Egoyan comes in.
Egoyan is a master
storyteller (he also wrote this screenplay) and his gifts are best represented
in this film. Where many directors bond with their audience by showing
them plot angles that characters in the film are not privy to (Hitchcock
was great for this) Egoyan decided to move in a different direction with
this film and leave his audience out of the loop. He bounces back and
forth from scene to scene that at first seem unrelated. The viewer wonders
how each character is connected to the overall story and how these random
scenes mesh to tell that story. Egoyan leaves us dangling until the very
end where all things are revealed. Although Egoyan was not the first to
set up a movie in this manner, he is one of the best to do so.
Where Egoyan pushes
you away (from the frustration of not knowing exactly what is going on)
he will drag you back in by flirting with the taboo. The main female character
Christina (played by Mia Kirshner) is dressed in a school girl uniform
when she strips. The relationship between Frances (Bruce Greenwood) and
his house sitter niece Tracy (Sarah Polley) seems to be too close. Zoë
(Arsinée Khanjian) is having Eric’s (Elias Koteas) child
through some sort of legal arrangement yet is some how involved in a lesbian
relationship with Christina (who is also Eric’s ex-girlfriend).
Because Egoyan arranged
the film to be mysterious until the end, Exotica is a perfect candidate
for interesting re-viewing. You can watch the film a second time acting
as Egoyan confidant (as you now know the storyline) which gives you a
whole new perspective on the film. In fact, each time you return, you
will pick up on subtle areas you missed. |
