Discuss Exotica
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Uncontrived, the Pieces Believably Snap Into Place
posted by northcoastSTAFFMOD on September 17, 2023 at 9:32 AM
Exotica (1994):
The lives of multiple people intersect at a Canadian strip club, all of them connected by one tragic event several years before; films like this, episodic, filled with flashbacks, are often criticized as too contrived and lost in their own self-importance, but I for one did not see the twists coming; to my mind, at least, this was not a film that was "too clever for its own good". The director, Atom Egoyan, wove the story together beautifully.
Now, the film is not without its faults; it does fall victim to the old trope of a group of creatives sort of wandering through life, a bit self-absorbed, floating from one experience to the next, and perhaps, paradoxically, despite their worldliness, maybe a bit too myopic when it comes to the greater problems of the wider world (there is life beyond the nightclub!).
As far as the cast-- there is a stable of Canadian well-knowns here:
Bruce Greenwood, understated, in another life his character would've been a perfect therapist, rather than the forensic accountant we see here.
Victor Garber, in a small role, but it is critical to the plot and its brevity is fully sufficient-- another testament to Egoyan's directorial skill.
Elias Koteas, a well-played dreamer.
Sarah Polley, a very young 15 at this time, before she was famous; she plays a faux babysitter who is a rather uncomfortable pawn of older men's pain (the more prurient out there shouldn't read too much into this-- her character is not directly involved with the nightclub).
Mia Kirshner, the nightclub performer who is the focus of all around her; she has certainly grown up from her very first screen role, as the literally-tortured daughter of a resistance fighter in the TV series War of the Worlds, Season 2, Episode 7, "Loving the Alien" (1989). Considering that earlier role and her turn here in Exotica, she definitely seems an actor very willing to take on very squeamish roles.
I should also mention that throughout Exotica, themes both Oedipal and Electra-like run rampant.
Exotica (1994):
Certainly risk-taking, and an ensemble film where Atom Egoyan lays out the interconnectedness of many characters in a fashion which, for once, is fairly believable.
Reply by rooprect
on September 17, 2023 at 10:23 AM
Nice review, nc. I saw this film ages ago (before I knew what art cinema was) and thought it was memorable. I'm thrilled that Criterion recently added it to their collection so I'll be grabbing a copy soon, hoping it has tons of bonus stuff like commentaries & interviews.
I think Exotica, like Robert Altman's Short Cuts a year earlier, is one of the earliest examples of the "multiple people intersect connected by one tragic event" genre which would become popular in the 2000s with blockbusters like Crash. I'm a big fan of the fractured narrative, especially when it all comes together in an unexpected way.
Exotica delivers a climactic surprise with the motivations of Bruce Greenwood's character toward the stripper being not what you'd expect, well timed with the flashback reveal.
I do remember having a gripe with the character & subplot of the club owner. I feel like she was thrown in just for the sake of having an ambiguously malevolent lesbian/trans element (which was the rage in the 90s after Basic Instinct, The Crying Game, etc). The character didn't seem to contribute much to the main thread, instead existing in a world of her own. Of course I may have missed something, which is why I really want to watch this movie again. This was my introduction to Canadian cinema and I thought it was really well done.
edit
I just read the trivia and saw that Egoyan was inspired to write this film after visiting a lesbian strip club. So maybe the character was a nod to that.
Reply by northcoast
on September 17, 2023 at 11:18 AM
rooprect--
Well, considering Zoe, it may have just been that the director wanted a role for his wife, Arsinee Khanjian (Egoyan is known for his penchant of putting his wife in his projects;))
But seriously, I did not find her character to be particularly malevolent; instead, I found her a rather comforting presence in the club, both to her employees and her clients. Perhaps on second viewing, rooprect, you will change your mind. But, I firmly believe, artistic interpretation is in the eye of the beholder, so perhaps your interpretation will not change, and you would not necessarily be wrong.
And you are absolutely correct about the Blu-Ray release:
It is from that which I watched the film last night, and it is positively loaded with extras-- including a short feature film of Egoyan's from just before Exotica, Calendar (1993), which I have just added to my "Watch Pending" list. I'll probably put it in my Winter rotation, and comment on it in the coming weeks/months, if you don't beat me to it;).
Reply by rooprect
on September 17, 2023 at 11:39 AM
Awesome, I'm sure I missed her significance and will understand it better on 2nd watch. I was a teenager when I saw it so, ya know how things fly over your head at that age.
"Malevolent" was definitely the wrong word but I couldn't think of what I meant. Sort of a shadowy or mysterious presence, I guess. From what I remember, we never see her outside the club so we associate her with the shadowy nature of the club itself. Actually, with that in mind, maybe her character was essential after all--a personification of the setting. One way or the other I'm looking forward to grabbing a Criterion copy. Those bonus features never fail to give me an appreciation for things I've missed!