Plot

A man plagued by neuroses frequents the club Exotica in an attempt to find solace, but even there his past is never far away.

This psychological thriller is true to its subjects as well as being complex, dynamic, and overly dramatic. How something so long ago, seemingly trivial, years later with more significant trauma, turns repressed emotions into a dysfunctional life and distorted thinking. This is all merged into a psychological menagerie that unfolds piece by piece to perfection.—benignjamin

The intertwined stories of a cast of characters at an exotic men's club called Exotica in Toronto are presented. The club itself is owned by Zoe, who inherited the business from her mother. Zoe hired Eric to be the club's main DJ and announcer, the two who entered into another mixed business/personal arrangement. Christina is one of the club's dancers/strippers, her on-stage persona being the naughty Catholic schoolgirl. She got the job at the club through Eric, the two who used to date. Francis, one of the club's regulars, always has Christina dance at his table for him, those dances which Eric continually tells the club's patrons over the loudspeaker are only $5 a dance. Francis and Christina's relationship seems to be more than just a business one, something that Eric notices. While Francis is at the club once every couple of nights, he has made an arrangement with his teenaged niece Tracey - the daughter of his wheelchair-bound brother, Harold - who he drives to/from his house for her to practice her music on his grand piano. Their arrangement is an unofficial business one which bothers Tracey. When an incident happens at the club which involves Francis, he asks Thomas, a gay pet shop owner he met through work, to do him a favor in helping him resolve the incident at the club to his satisfaction. What happens with this collective of people, as their underlying stories and connections are revealed, is set against the backdrop of a missing person's case with a tragic ending.—Huggo

Francis spends his evenings at Exotica, an up-market strip club. He is particularly fond of Christina, one of the strippers. However, Eric the DJ / MC of the club has strong feelings for Christina and is extremely jealous of the attention Francis is giving her. A clash between Francis and Eric is inevitable.—grantss

Thomas (Don McKellar) goes through the customs check-in gate at an airport, surreptitiously watched by officials from behind a security mirror, as one guard talks about how to spot a smuggler. When Thomas arrives at his home we see he has large eggs taped to his stomach that he has brought in through customs undetected. As we move to Exotica, a dance club sporting a hot house theme where women dance for men, we are introduced to Francis (Bruce Greenwood) who comes to the club regularly to see his favorite dancer Christina (Mia Kirshner) perform her School Girl performance. They are watched by Eric (Elias Koteas) the club DJ who has a past history with Christina, and who also functions as bouncer when clients violate rules by touching the performers. An accountant by trade, Francis arrives at the pet shop of Thomas the next day to examine his accounting books, unaware that the smuggler has a rare exotic egg at his house that he is incubating. Later that night while attending an opera performance Thomas picks up a man who happens to be the customs officer who had watched him at the airport. Later when the customs officer steals the egg from Thomas, we learn that Francis is part of a larger investigation to see where Thomas has untaxed coming in to his business. The relationship of Eric and Christina is a love affair that has gone sour mainly because Eric made a deal with club owner Zoe (Arsine Khanjian) to allow her to have his child. As announcer for the performers Eric holds a particular bitterness connected with Christina that is apparent in the way he announces her special dance. Eric is jealous that Christina has broken up with him and he resents the attention that Francis gains from the young dancer, so he anonymously suggests that Francis touch Christina as she performs, an act that the two men know is prohibited. When Christina is dancing for Francis, he touches her stomach and Eric violently ejects him from the club. When Francis enlists the aid of Thomas and recovers a gun, he returns to Exotica to confront Eric in a stunning and emotional climax.

Yea but who knows what's going on in this movie?