Like other Egoyan films, this one starts like an incomplete jigsaw puzzle, with the missing pieces added as it progresses. However, it is not the plot that is the most important part of the film but the intriguing interactions between the characters. There's the auditor trying to overcome a painful past while reviewing the books of the gay pet shop owner. Then there's the lesbian strip club owner, the jailbird stripper, and the DJ who completes the volatile love triangle. There is fine acting by the entire cast, with Greenwood and Koteas specially good. The music by Danna perfectly underscores the sense of mystery. Egoyan masterfully balances the plot lines until the pieces come together to form a nearly complete picture - there are still unanswered questions for the viewer to ponder!
107 Reviews
Unique and hypnotic strip tease
SnoopyStyle7 June 2014
Thomas (Don McKellar) smuggles rare bird eggs for his pet store and he starts going to the ballet after given a ticket. Exotica is a strip club in Toronto with a lush tropical theme. Christina (Mia Kirshner) is a stripper there, Eric (Elias Koteas) is the DJ, and a pregnant Zoe (Arsinée Khanjian) is the owner. Francis (Bruce Greenwood) is a customer and a tax auditor. Eric and Christina used to be sweethearts. Harold (Victor Garber) is Francis' friend and Tracey (Sarah Polley) is his daughter. The stories interconnect as the movie weave them back and forth in time.
Writer/director Atom Egoyan has definitely made something unique. The strip club is oddly unlike any others. It sets the tone for the movie. Nothing is so simple. The movie holds its secrets as it peels the story of these characters slowly. The characters are fascinating. Each one is emotionally detached and damaged. The movie is hypnotic as the audience work out the connections between the stories. It's a real slow strip tease.
Writer/director Atom Egoyan has definitely made something unique. The strip club is oddly unlike any others. It sets the tone for the movie. Nothing is so simple. The movie holds its secrets as it peels the story of these characters slowly. The characters are fascinating. Each one is emotionally detached and damaged. The movie is hypnotic as the audience work out the connections between the stories. It's a real slow strip tease.
A Terrific Movie, But Not For Everyone
steven-fain28 August 2002
This is a really wonderful movie, but it's not for everyone. It uses time slices back into time to bring the movie to a very natural and satisfying conclusion, and not one you are led to expect.
It may be slower than many expect in their movies these days. If you want fast pace, look elsewhere.
It may be slower than many expect in their movies these days. If you want fast pace, look elsewhere.
Very Good
WriterDave26 July 2003
Don't be fooled by the soft-porn title or the "sexy thriller" style art on the VHS box and DVD cover. This, like Egoyan's follow-up masterpiece "The Sweet Hereafter" is an intricate, elliptical, and tragic look at grief and loss focusing on the people who work at and patronize a Toronto strip club. It's all very literary and symbolic (the exotic creatures of the pet shop being audited by Bruce Greenwood's tax man with a sad secret mirroring the exotic dancers of the club where he finds his solace after hours) and surprisingly emotional (especially at the end). Character development, secrets, and inner truths are revealed slowly and carefully and in non-linear fashion by Egoyan's delicate director's hand. The "exotic" flavored yet haunting musical score is an added bonus. Worth a look if you are in the right mood and know what to expect from Egoyan.
Amazingly beautiful, haunting film
Gouda-329 April 1999
I can't remember seeing a film as intriguing, complex, and beautifully photographed as "Exotica." I nearly didn't watch it because the video cover advertized it as an "erotic thriller" and the image on the front is of Mia Kirchner doing her strip-tease bit. Granted, "Exotica" centers around a "gentleman's club" of the same name, but to call this film a simple erotic thriller is to miss out on a lot, on too much.
"Exotica" follows four seemingly unrelated storylines: a man sitting alone at a table in a strip club, another man smuggling exotic parrot eggs into the country ("Exotica" takes place in and around Toronto), two apparent strangers walking in a field of green, and a young girl who plays a flute in an empty house. Egoyan begins with these vastly different puzzle pieces then slowly, inexorably brings them together.
Atom Egoyan is one heck of a masterful director. He is the epicenter of this cinematic symphony that leads carefully from movement to movement until the finale bursts forth in equal measure of catharsis, discovery, and tragedy. Plot to him is like tapestry weaving. He threads narrative, characters, time, and setting in such complicated iterations that one is at once nearly overwhelmed by the intricacy and awed at his skill, a testament to his brilliance as well as his belief that a film-going audience is actually intelligent.
At it's heart, "Exotica" is a tragedy of circumstances. Or better yet, a collision of tragedies of circumstances. Indeed, the film isn't so much about tragedy as it is about those who survive tragedy and the toll a single event can exact for the rest of the lives of those who survive. Exotica, the gentleman's club, serves merely as a focal point where all these individual tragedies radiate to.
Equally haunting in all this is the music. Mychael Danna's score sets the film's tone: dark, "exotic," deceptively simple but savvier than it lets on. Also worthy of note is the music in the club itself, a blend of American house funk and Middle Eastern tones, warbled in Arabic.
I highly recommend this film. Ignore the naked women who sashay from time to time in front of the screen (difficult as that may be at times) in the scenes shot in the club. The really interesting stuff occurs at the margins of the film, as the gulf separating the storylines begin to vanish, and the final scene gives you the keystone to a horrifying clear vision of a sadness so overwhelming that no one in the film escapes unscathed.
"Exotica" follows four seemingly unrelated storylines: a man sitting alone at a table in a strip club, another man smuggling exotic parrot eggs into the country ("Exotica" takes place in and around Toronto), two apparent strangers walking in a field of green, and a young girl who plays a flute in an empty house. Egoyan begins with these vastly different puzzle pieces then slowly, inexorably brings them together.
Atom Egoyan is one heck of a masterful director. He is the epicenter of this cinematic symphony that leads carefully from movement to movement until the finale bursts forth in equal measure of catharsis, discovery, and tragedy. Plot to him is like tapestry weaving. He threads narrative, characters, time, and setting in such complicated iterations that one is at once nearly overwhelmed by the intricacy and awed at his skill, a testament to his brilliance as well as his belief that a film-going audience is actually intelligent.
At it's heart, "Exotica" is a tragedy of circumstances. Or better yet, a collision of tragedies of circumstances. Indeed, the film isn't so much about tragedy as it is about those who survive tragedy and the toll a single event can exact for the rest of the lives of those who survive. Exotica, the gentleman's club, serves merely as a focal point where all these individual tragedies radiate to.
Equally haunting in all this is the music. Mychael Danna's score sets the film's tone: dark, "exotic," deceptively simple but savvier than it lets on. Also worthy of note is the music in the club itself, a blend of American house funk and Middle Eastern tones, warbled in Arabic.
I highly recommend this film. Ignore the naked women who sashay from time to time in front of the screen (difficult as that may be at times) in the scenes shot in the club. The really interesting stuff occurs at the margins of the film, as the gulf separating the storylines begin to vanish, and the final scene gives you the keystone to a horrifying clear vision of a sadness so overwhelming that no one in the film escapes unscathed.
Everyone in the film has a psychological problem....
JuguAbraham28 April 2015
Interesting opening credits. Interesting cast. Interesting use of Leonard Cohen's song. But in totality, just above average. The film deals with a set of characters, each having some sort of a psychological problem. Visually strong, but content-wise very weak.
This is my first Egoyan film. He has evidently some talent to make a viewer sit up and expect the unusual. But why populate an entire film with problem characters? That's not reality.
The most interesting bit was actor Don McKellar who plays Thomas is made to look like the director Atom Egoyan, complete with his glasses. Is that an autobiographical touch?
This is my first Egoyan film. He has evidently some talent to make a viewer sit up and expect the unusual. But why populate an entire film with problem characters? That's not reality.
The most interesting bit was actor Don McKellar who plays Thomas is made to look like the director Atom Egoyan, complete with his glasses. Is that an autobiographical touch?
Help For the Viewer?
aimless-4630 August 2004
Warning: Spoilers
CAUTION-SPOILERS AHEAD-EXOTICA has been overwhelmingly praised by the critics. I think the Tomatometer is at 95% favorable. Here is my take on EXOTICA-maybe it will help some viewers to appreciate this fine film.
The film is very much a paradox, sensual but sterile, intense but distant, hollow but haunting. It is a complex story with a relatively simple theme. The characters include Francis (Bruce Greenwood) as a Canadian government revenue auditor who is auditing the financials of an exotic pet store (whose owner Thomas is played by Don McKeller) while trying to exorcise his demons at a strip club called EXOTICA. During his nocturnal visits to the club he pays his niece Tracey (played by Sarah Polley) to baby-sit his seemingly absent daughter. The viewer gets to know the strip club DJ, Eric (Elias Koteas); a stripper, Christina (Mia Kirshner) who dances for Francis and happens to be Eric's ex-girlfriend; and the very pregnant (by Eric) club owner Zoe (Arsinee Khanjian) who is having an affair with Christina.
The plot is an example of elliptical storytelling in that it moves in a purposeful ever-circling way to slowly reveal the connections between the worlds of each character. There is enough misdirection to keep the viewer wary of their perceptions. They must pay complete attention and remember what they see.
There are significant technical reasons to like this film. It is first and foremost a director's film and Adam Egoyan's directing is amazing. A director is responsible for both casting and for directing their cast. For Exotica Egoyan added to his cast of regulars two of the best young actresses (Kirshner and Polley) in Canada. Kirshner's performance provides an extremely unusual combination of sensuality and thinly masked pain. Polley is simply the most subtly expressive actress in film today. They are world class talents who seem to deliberately stay away from mainstream films but have little trouble getting lots of work. Greenwood, McKellar, Koteas, and Khanjian, are likewise excellent. Egoyan kept all six reined-in so that their performances are low-key and restrained. While there were many stylish and beautiful camera shots he mostly keeps the characters at a distance. Exotic décor, busy sets, atmosphere, restrained acting, minimal tight shots, and frequent plot misdirection keeps the viewer from bonding or strongly identifying with the characters. He did not want the viewer getting into the heads of the characters, he wanted us to internalize the theme and to take it into our heads. This way if we pay attention we will learn as much about ourselves as we will about the characters.
The theme is substitution, how the process of living is simply a process of substitution. We grow out of things and find substitutes for them. We lose something precious but we carry on by finding a substitute. We expand our horizons and find substitutes that we did not know about or that we thought unattainable. We need something we can't have so we find something that works as a substitute. Sometimes the substitutes are an improvement on the original, sometimes they are a better match with a new stage of life, sometimes they are an imperfect substitute but the best that we can manage, and sometimes (certainly in this film) they are an addictive trap that keep us from moving on or growing.
Most people's dreams don't come true and they settle for a substitute, often without really noticing. The most compelling scene in `Field of Dreams' is when Burt Lancaster is talking about what it was like to give up his dream of playing major league baseball. He says: `It was like coming this close to your dream and then watching it brush past you like a stranger in a crowd. At the time I didn't think much about it. We just don't recognize the most significant moments in our lives when they happen. Back then I thought: there will be other days, I didn't realize that was the only day'. While his character accepted the end of his dream and substituted a life as the town doctor, in Exotica the substitutes are dysfunctional because there is no acceptance. That is why so many of the substitutions involve payment, a transactional substitution is a temporary event and allows the illusion to stay alive.
Exotica focuses on the substitutes used by its central characters. Francis substitutes Christina for his daughter and Tracey for Christina (when she was his daughter's babysitter). Eric substitutes his club DJ job for the career he wanted in radio, he substitutes his voyeurism in the club for his inability to have a lasting relationship. Zoe substitutes for her dead mother and continues to run the club, instead of a husband she has Eric contractually substitute so that she can have a baby. Thomas substitutes his opera liaisons for a real relationship and substitutes an incubator for the eggs he has taken from a nest. Christina substitutes a protective Francis for her uncaring and probably abusive father. Voyeurism substitutes for interaction.
Eric's voyeurism eventually leads him to the conclusion that the Francis-Christina mutual dependency has gone from a temporary coping mechanism to an addictive trap. He elects to destroy that relationship by convincing Francis to touch Christina. Eric knows that the relationship must end once this occurs, no matter how Christina reacts. Either she will no longer be able to use Francis because he betrayed her trust or Francis will no longer be able to use her because he can no longer maintain his illusion of protecting her purity. Then they will both have to move on and seek new and hopefully more positive substitutes.
Contrary to some who have commented on this film I did not see any real `plot holes'. Almost every detail is eventually explained and if anything Egoyan made the plot a little too predictable. But at least this was balanced by some interesting misdirection-like having Tracey live above a shabby strip mall so you jump to the conclusion that she is a child prostitute and that Francis has a thing for young girls. Certainly on the second viewing it is clear that many clues are provided and that the outcome is being subtly telegraphed throughout the film in a kind of mental striptease.
As already mentioned, the really unique feature of this movie is that the viewer does not really connect with the characters but instead connects with the substitution theme. The audience is given a new perspective from which to think about their own substitutions. Perceptive members of the audience are forced to be more than observers. This is powerful stuff.
The film is very much a paradox, sensual but sterile, intense but distant, hollow but haunting. It is a complex story with a relatively simple theme. The characters include Francis (Bruce Greenwood) as a Canadian government revenue auditor who is auditing the financials of an exotic pet store (whose owner Thomas is played by Don McKeller) while trying to exorcise his demons at a strip club called EXOTICA. During his nocturnal visits to the club he pays his niece Tracey (played by Sarah Polley) to baby-sit his seemingly absent daughter. The viewer gets to know the strip club DJ, Eric (Elias Koteas); a stripper, Christina (Mia Kirshner) who dances for Francis and happens to be Eric's ex-girlfriend; and the very pregnant (by Eric) club owner Zoe (Arsinee Khanjian) who is having an affair with Christina.
The plot is an example of elliptical storytelling in that it moves in a purposeful ever-circling way to slowly reveal the connections between the worlds of each character. There is enough misdirection to keep the viewer wary of their perceptions. They must pay complete attention and remember what they see.
There are significant technical reasons to like this film. It is first and foremost a director's film and Adam Egoyan's directing is amazing. A director is responsible for both casting and for directing their cast. For Exotica Egoyan added to his cast of regulars two of the best young actresses (Kirshner and Polley) in Canada. Kirshner's performance provides an extremely unusual combination of sensuality and thinly masked pain. Polley is simply the most subtly expressive actress in film today. They are world class talents who seem to deliberately stay away from mainstream films but have little trouble getting lots of work. Greenwood, McKellar, Koteas, and Khanjian, are likewise excellent. Egoyan kept all six reined-in so that their performances are low-key and restrained. While there were many stylish and beautiful camera shots he mostly keeps the characters at a distance. Exotic décor, busy sets, atmosphere, restrained acting, minimal tight shots, and frequent plot misdirection keeps the viewer from bonding or strongly identifying with the characters. He did not want the viewer getting into the heads of the characters, he wanted us to internalize the theme and to take it into our heads. This way if we pay attention we will learn as much about ourselves as we will about the characters.
The theme is substitution, how the process of living is simply a process of substitution. We grow out of things and find substitutes for them. We lose something precious but we carry on by finding a substitute. We expand our horizons and find substitutes that we did not know about or that we thought unattainable. We need something we can't have so we find something that works as a substitute. Sometimes the substitutes are an improvement on the original, sometimes they are a better match with a new stage of life, sometimes they are an imperfect substitute but the best that we can manage, and sometimes (certainly in this film) they are an addictive trap that keep us from moving on or growing.
Most people's dreams don't come true and they settle for a substitute, often without really noticing. The most compelling scene in `Field of Dreams' is when Burt Lancaster is talking about what it was like to give up his dream of playing major league baseball. He says: `It was like coming this close to your dream and then watching it brush past you like a stranger in a crowd. At the time I didn't think much about it. We just don't recognize the most significant moments in our lives when they happen. Back then I thought: there will be other days, I didn't realize that was the only day'. While his character accepted the end of his dream and substituted a life as the town doctor, in Exotica the substitutes are dysfunctional because there is no acceptance. That is why so many of the substitutions involve payment, a transactional substitution is a temporary event and allows the illusion to stay alive.
Exotica focuses on the substitutes used by its central characters. Francis substitutes Christina for his daughter and Tracey for Christina (when she was his daughter's babysitter). Eric substitutes his club DJ job for the career he wanted in radio, he substitutes his voyeurism in the club for his inability to have a lasting relationship. Zoe substitutes for her dead mother and continues to run the club, instead of a husband she has Eric contractually substitute so that she can have a baby. Thomas substitutes his opera liaisons for a real relationship and substitutes an incubator for the eggs he has taken from a nest. Christina substitutes a protective Francis for her uncaring and probably abusive father. Voyeurism substitutes for interaction.
Eric's voyeurism eventually leads him to the conclusion that the Francis-Christina mutual dependency has gone from a temporary coping mechanism to an addictive trap. He elects to destroy that relationship by convincing Francis to touch Christina. Eric knows that the relationship must end once this occurs, no matter how Christina reacts. Either she will no longer be able to use Francis because he betrayed her trust or Francis will no longer be able to use her because he can no longer maintain his illusion of protecting her purity. Then they will both have to move on and seek new and hopefully more positive substitutes.
Contrary to some who have commented on this film I did not see any real `plot holes'. Almost every detail is eventually explained and if anything Egoyan made the plot a little too predictable. But at least this was balanced by some interesting misdirection-like having Tracey live above a shabby strip mall so you jump to the conclusion that she is a child prostitute and that Francis has a thing for young girls. Certainly on the second viewing it is clear that many clues are provided and that the outcome is being subtly telegraphed throughout the film in a kind of mental striptease.
As already mentioned, the really unique feature of this movie is that the viewer does not really connect with the characters but instead connects with the substitution theme. The audience is given a new perspective from which to think about their own substitutions. Perceptive members of the audience are forced to be more than observers. This is powerful stuff.
Memorandoms from shattered lives
zamani23 April 2006
Warning: Spoilers
First of all let's come clear. At the first time that I see Exotica it is very gripping. It even mislead you in a way that in about first ten minutes of movies about what the story is really about. But after thinking about it for a while one can discover why it is gripping. Exotica makes the viewer to identify with a man who have all the bad lucks. His daughter is kidnapped and murdered, his wife cheat on him but he is so nice that he accepts that, and then his wife dies in an accident but her lovers remains alive, he is satisfied with a memorandum of his shattered life by going to the Exotica and have a private dance of a young girl but by the way of a setup he loses that too, and when he tries to get a revenge he is not capable to do that. The final scene which is a flashback underlines this point and in a final revelation we find out that this setup has taken away from our hero something that he cannot find anywhere else and in this regard has damaged him beyond the want of the culprit of this setup. And as if that is not enough Exotica has some less favorable characters who have pure luck. Like the smuggler: the costume officer turns out to be a sex partner, his tax officer white washes his crime for a next to nothing small favor, and even when he commits the same offense that our good hapless protagonist is severely beaten and thrown out, his punishment is just a sweet smile and another touch by hand. Exotica has a good story and is told to maximum effect, but after thinking about it the final segment is that this movie does not further our knowledge of our world beyond what we already know. this fact is emphasized in the lyrics of the song that Christina dance with it in Exotica, and it says repeatedly that everybody knows.
A fractured movie about a fractured life
jon-8821 December 1998
Perhaps Atom Egoyan's most successful film. Egoyan's technique is to fracture a story like a jigsaw puzzle, giving the viewer bits and pieces which only all connect in the final scene. That ripping apart of reality is especially appropriate here, since the movie is about people putting their lives together after terrible trauma. It's also about the danger in leaping to conclusions - the viewer is often tempted to make a judgement about what he or she sees, and that judgement is often both wrong and unfair. If this all sounds like homework, be assured that the movie is also a lot of fun: it's sexy and interesting and inspired.
Interesting Exposure to Momentary Affections of People, But Not Enough For Me
turkerc31 July 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I believe what makes 'Exotica' worth your time is that it is good at showing instantaneous affectivity among people at various situations, be it a scene of a crime or a night club or anything nearly that disturbing; although when the move ended, I realised that I found myself unpersuaded with the turn of events.
I think one main point for the film being that there can be very sincere sorts of relationships even at a gentleman's club, origins of which, however, were not satisfactorily revealed in this picture. Sure, there was an understanding and unfolding of what had happened until protagonist reached to the starting point of movie but still it is lacking about an explanation of the origins of their behaviours. Take Christina, as an example. Even though we are exposed to some of her experiences with Francis and Eric, these fail to explain why she behaves this way; one would suggest that the path for these kind of people is already articulated enough beforehand, but then I would reply I would like to see the situation in Christina's terms.
I would also like to add that there is a weird, surreal sense of entanglement surrounding the plot; I am not sure whether the story is about this but does real life work similar to this? Obviously, there is complexity to some degree in lives, I mean none of our stories is far from being simple but there always is a chance to simplify things, which I am yet to find in this movie. Egg smuggling, suspicion around child murder, giving free tickets resulting in more than a social experience; all in all did not seem very coherent or flowing naturally to me. Is life that haphazard and that connected at the same time?
Nevertheless, I am going to say this: I enjoyed the slightly uncomfortable sense that something preventable was going to happen towards the end, because that is a thing that you can emphatise easily. Sometimes, there is a clear misunderstanding between two people, which you can see clearly as a complete alien third but there is not much to do as you are behind a mute glass; this, I believe, was the case among Francis, Eric and Thomas. Thankfully, dreaded things do not come true all the time.
It was amusing, definitely worth-watching, but ultimately unconvincing for people like me with shallow imagination.
I think one main point for the film being that there can be very sincere sorts of relationships even at a gentleman's club, origins of which, however, were not satisfactorily revealed in this picture. Sure, there was an understanding and unfolding of what had happened until protagonist reached to the starting point of movie but still it is lacking about an explanation of the origins of their behaviours. Take Christina, as an example. Even though we are exposed to some of her experiences with Francis and Eric, these fail to explain why she behaves this way; one would suggest that the path for these kind of people is already articulated enough beforehand, but then I would reply I would like to see the situation in Christina's terms.
I would also like to add that there is a weird, surreal sense of entanglement surrounding the plot; I am not sure whether the story is about this but does real life work similar to this? Obviously, there is complexity to some degree in lives, I mean none of our stories is far from being simple but there always is a chance to simplify things, which I am yet to find in this movie. Egg smuggling, suspicion around child murder, giving free tickets resulting in more than a social experience; all in all did not seem very coherent or flowing naturally to me. Is life that haphazard and that connected at the same time?
Nevertheless, I am going to say this: I enjoyed the slightly uncomfortable sense that something preventable was going to happen towards the end, because that is a thing that you can emphatise easily. Sometimes, there is a clear misunderstanding between two people, which you can see clearly as a complete alien third but there is not much to do as you are behind a mute glass; this, I believe, was the case among Francis, Eric and Thomas. Thankfully, dreaded things do not come true all the time.
It was amusing, definitely worth-watching, but ultimately unconvincing for people like me with shallow imagination.
all pretense and no substance
igor-2923 July 1999
After watching the movie, my feeling was of a porno flick with all explicit scenes cut out by the editor. The atmosphere of a porno movie is maintained by a fragmented plot with sketchy characters whose only reason for existence seems to be their gravitation towards a certain night club. The feeling of suspense is supposed to be conveyed through a total lack of expression on actors' faces and dimmed lighting in the club. This is the first Atom Egoyan's movie I've seen and I am deeply disappointed.
Another masterclass from Egoyan
wulfit20001 September 2005
I first became aware of Atom Egoyans work after watching "Felicias Journey" on television. This was an unusual film in that I was not sure whether I was enjoying it or not, but equally could not have switched it off. It was only when I found myself thinking about the film some days later that I realised what an excellent piece of cinema I had witnessed. Through IMDb I checked for other work by this director & came across "The Sweet Hereafter". I quickly obtained a copy, and whilst watching it became spellbound by its slow burning intensity and the excellent performances of Bruce Greenwood, Ian Holm & the wonderful Sarah Polley.
I needed to see more, and bought a copy of "Exotica". This film is an absolute masterpiece. Again, like "Sweet Hereafter" it has a slow burning quality,accentuated by the repetitive nature of the lives of the main characters. Excellent performances from Bruce Greenwood, probably one of the most underrated & understated actors of his generation, Sarah Polley, Elias Koteas and the beautiful Mia Kirshner. As you watch this film, you wonder how the lives of these characters will eventually impact on each other, and your mind searches for possible explanations. When this explanation arrives, it hits you like a tidal wave, washing away any doubts that you may have had about the quality of Egoyans storytelling.
After gorging myself on a surfeit of summer blockbusters, which although enjoyable at the time, like a Chinese meal, leave you empty again some few hours later, I needed nourishment for my mind as well as my eyes. The discovery of the genius of Atom Egoyan has provided this spiritual feeding.
I needed to see more, and bought a copy of "Exotica". This film is an absolute masterpiece. Again, like "Sweet Hereafter" it has a slow burning quality,accentuated by the repetitive nature of the lives of the main characters. Excellent performances from Bruce Greenwood, probably one of the most underrated & understated actors of his generation, Sarah Polley, Elias Koteas and the beautiful Mia Kirshner. As you watch this film, you wonder how the lives of these characters will eventually impact on each other, and your mind searches for possible explanations. When this explanation arrives, it hits you like a tidal wave, washing away any doubts that you may have had about the quality of Egoyans storytelling.
After gorging myself on a surfeit of summer blockbusters, which although enjoyable at the time, like a Chinese meal, leave you empty again some few hours later, I needed nourishment for my mind as well as my eyes. The discovery of the genius of Atom Egoyan has provided this spiritual feeding.
Save the Oscars
Sack-314 November 2002
Warning: Spoilers
This movie was entertaining. Let me just say that up front because the rest of this review will make it seem otherwise.
Warning: spoilers ahead. Warning: rant ahead.
This is not a cinematic treasure. (1) The characters were are all very cheesy. They all gave off this swinger vibe. It made the film seem much older than 1994. Sure it wasn't filmed in 1984? 1974? (2) Don't good movies try to avoid plot holes? The entire plot line of the guy with the eggs was half-baked (sorry). What, the heck, ever happens to him and his stolen eggs? No one really noticed because no one really cares about this rather large side plot. If this is such an all-fired great movie, shouldn't we care about the characters? (3) The finale with the school girl stripper is an "a ha!" but if you think about it for a couple more seconds it either makes no sense or, worse, is pretty twisted. Not that twisted is bad, but the movie does not set up why he would want to relate his dead daughter with a stripper that gives him lap dances every night. "We do things for each other" Deep stuff -- NOT. More like the guy has the hots for the high school girl who babysat for him. After seeing her, who wouldn't? But it is still a much more pedestrian plot line. (4) The longhaired guy is an idiot character who looks way too much like Antonio Banderas. Plus, who would go to a strip club with such a lame DJ? Ooooh all that mumbling and missing the ends of dances is making me hot... Whatever.
Warning: spoilers ahead. Warning: rant ahead.
This is not a cinematic treasure. (1) The characters were are all very cheesy. They all gave off this swinger vibe. It made the film seem much older than 1994. Sure it wasn't filmed in 1984? 1974? (2) Don't good movies try to avoid plot holes? The entire plot line of the guy with the eggs was half-baked (sorry). What, the heck, ever happens to him and his stolen eggs? No one really noticed because no one really cares about this rather large side plot. If this is such an all-fired great movie, shouldn't we care about the characters? (3) The finale with the school girl stripper is an "a ha!" but if you think about it for a couple more seconds it either makes no sense or, worse, is pretty twisted. Not that twisted is bad, but the movie does not set up why he would want to relate his dead daughter with a stripper that gives him lap dances every night. "We do things for each other" Deep stuff -- NOT. More like the guy has the hots for the high school girl who babysat for him. After seeing her, who wouldn't? But it is still a much more pedestrian plot line. (4) The longhaired guy is an idiot character who looks way too much like Antonio Banderas. Plus, who would go to a strip club with such a lame DJ? Ooooh all that mumbling and missing the ends of dances is making me hot... Whatever.
Beautifully filmed, but it didn't do much for me
FilmOtaku4 January 2005
The title of the film "Exotica" comes from a strip club where much of the action either takes place or originates from, where dancer Christina (Mia Kirshner) captivates two men, club DJ Eric (Elias Koteas) and accountant Francis (Bruce Greenwood) for different reasons. Also added into the mix is Thomas, (Don McKellar) an exotic animal store owner who becomes involved when Francis is performing an audit on his books and discovers transgressions there, essentially blackmailing him into helping him get to Christina.
Even if I were to provide enough information about the film without concern about spoilers, it would be hard to describe the plot of the film. "Exotica", while centering on a strip club, is mostly about relationships, (all unhealthy to very great extents) and the evolution of one's character and personality. The film is told in a non-linear style, which is usually very refreshing, but I found that while I was willing to endure the very slow pacing for a great denouement, particularly because I felt like I was being set up for one, I didn't get one. These problems with the film are in direct contrast with the beautiful and stylish cinematography and the fairly rich character development. Things as subtle as Victor Garber's (who played Greenwood's brother in a small but important role) "Black Power" t-shirts were, upon reflection, a great touch. And the performances of the main players were decent, though I will admit that I got a little tired of Mia Kirshner after awhile.
Unfortunately, the negatives and positives of "Exotica" offset one another, and therefore left me pretty tepid. It can be recommended to anyone who likes independent cinema, but beyond that, I can't imagine it being tolerated by a mainstream audience. Perhaps it deserves a second viewing, to appreciate it further, but I give it a 5/10.
--Shelly
Even if I were to provide enough information about the film without concern about spoilers, it would be hard to describe the plot of the film. "Exotica", while centering on a strip club, is mostly about relationships, (all unhealthy to very great extents) and the evolution of one's character and personality. The film is told in a non-linear style, which is usually very refreshing, but I found that while I was willing to endure the very slow pacing for a great denouement, particularly because I felt like I was being set up for one, I didn't get one. These problems with the film are in direct contrast with the beautiful and stylish cinematography and the fairly rich character development. Things as subtle as Victor Garber's (who played Greenwood's brother in a small but important role) "Black Power" t-shirts were, upon reflection, a great touch. And the performances of the main players were decent, though I will admit that I got a little tired of Mia Kirshner after awhile.
Unfortunately, the negatives and positives of "Exotica" offset one another, and therefore left me pretty tepid. It can be recommended to anyone who likes independent cinema, but beyond that, I can't imagine it being tolerated by a mainstream audience. Perhaps it deserves a second viewing, to appreciate it further, but I give it a 5/10.
--Shelly
Beautiful, haunting, poetic and truthful.
Django-2128 July 2003
Just seen this for the second time. First time I saw it (about a year ago), I wasn't really sure what to make of it, but there were scenes from it (when Elias Koteas reveals why his connection to the disturbed and grieving father and the scene with the father and his daughter's babysitter at the end) that have always stuck in my mind.
A very haunting and beautiful movie (even though it gives a very unpleasant view of life), with a haunting snake charm style score and starring the brilliant Elias Koteas (from "Crash") and the lovely Mia Kirshner (from early first season "24" and "The Crow: City Of Angels"). Victor Garber (Sidney's dad in "Alias") also has a couple of scenes. Not to many tastes but very rewarding if you can appreciate it (although it's sense of detachment probably puts off a lot of people).
It seems to me to explore the theme of people trying to connect, in a very insular and ultimately unfulfilling way (the young gay man who goes to the ballet every night and gives away his "extra ticket" for companionship or the grieving father who pays a young girl to "babysit" his empty house so that he can have the illusion his daughter is still around for example), and also the theme of loss (variously of loved ones, innocence, youth, opportunity etc). The Exotica strip club seems such hollow place but at the same time it seems almost understandable that it would draw hapless souls night after night with nowhere else to go. Some of the dialogue seems poetic, cynical and truthful all at the same time. A film that you really need to watch to the end before you really feel you understand it's puzzle (and even then there seems to be something just out of grasp this viewing). A moving portrait of life that will linger in your mind afterwards.
A very haunting and beautiful movie (even though it gives a very unpleasant view of life), with a haunting snake charm style score and starring the brilliant Elias Koteas (from "Crash") and the lovely Mia Kirshner (from early first season "24" and "The Crow: City Of Angels"). Victor Garber (Sidney's dad in "Alias") also has a couple of scenes. Not to many tastes but very rewarding if you can appreciate it (although it's sense of detachment probably puts off a lot of people).
It seems to me to explore the theme of people trying to connect, in a very insular and ultimately unfulfilling way (the young gay man who goes to the ballet every night and gives away his "extra ticket" for companionship or the grieving father who pays a young girl to "babysit" his empty house so that he can have the illusion his daughter is still around for example), and also the theme of loss (variously of loved ones, innocence, youth, opportunity etc). The Exotica strip club seems such hollow place but at the same time it seems almost understandable that it would draw hapless souls night after night with nowhere else to go. Some of the dialogue seems poetic, cynical and truthful all at the same time. A film that you really need to watch to the end before you really feel you understand it's puzzle (and even then there seems to be something just out of grasp this viewing). A moving portrait of life that will linger in your mind afterwards.
One of the great movies of the 1990s
beeryusa24 December 2005
One of the best movies I've ever seen. This film is what movies should always be about - making people think about how they think, their preconceptions and prejudices.
The film seems to have been marketed as a borderline porn film, and although it has a single scene of partial nudity, that is by no means what it's about. The actors give wonderful performances and the director does a great job of crafting a thoughtful and thought-provoking masterpiece.
I'm not going to say more about the storyline because if too much is given away you won't get those moments of revelation. Just go out and rent or buy this masterpiece of cinema.
The film seems to have been marketed as a borderline porn film, and although it has a single scene of partial nudity, that is by no means what it's about. The actors give wonderful performances and the director does a great job of crafting a thoughtful and thought-provoking masterpiece.
I'm not going to say more about the storyline because if too much is given away you won't get those moments of revelation. Just go out and rent or buy this masterpiece of cinema.
Bust A Move...
newkfl31 July 2007
I would have to admit that Exotica turned out to be a better film than I had imagined. It was slow in parts, but I guess it was to counter some of the scenes in the movie. There were some very disturbing characters in the movie too that really did not have problems so to speak, but certainly could have used some help from a trained sexual therapist. I would have certainly kept my distance from the character with the very hairy chest. I do not even think that he knew what he was going to do next. There was some good bar scene shots and dialog, but all in all, I think that the ending was a little bit rushed. It made me think of several ways that the movie could have been changed to fit the ending. Do not blink!!!
GREAT MOVIE...MISLEADING ART WORK
RMurray84728 April 2002
When you first look at the VHS box for this movie, it looks like a slightly upscale version of Showgirl. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is a sad, painful, mysterious movie that explores human relationships in a very unusual way. Yes, lots of it takes place at a strip club,but it's not very sexy or explicit.
You have to pay careful attention to this movie. It bounces around in time, and all the threads of the plot don't come totally together until the very last moment of the movie. But it has a devastating and gripping payoff. ONLY FOR INTELLIGENT MOVIE GOERS. It's a tough movie, kinda slow, but it is unusual, inventive and in my opinion, very satisfying.
Also recommend THE SWEET HEREAFTER, directed by Atom Egoyan as well. Same fractured structure and sense of sadness. But beautiful.
You have to pay careful attention to this movie. It bounces around in time, and all the threads of the plot don't come totally together until the very last moment of the movie. But it has a devastating and gripping payoff. ONLY FOR INTELLIGENT MOVIE GOERS. It's a tough movie, kinda slow, but it is unusual, inventive and in my opinion, very satisfying.
Also recommend THE SWEET HEREAFTER, directed by Atom Egoyan as well. Same fractured structure and sense of sadness. But beautiful.
Everybody Knows
gbill-7487730 September 2023
Strong performances, a depth of emotion, and intelligent directing from Atom Egoyan make this Canadian "erotic thriller" quite a contrast to the big American film set in a strip club the following year, Showgirls, and I mean that in a good way. The way the story is pieced together is a gradual reveal, intriguing at each step of the way, and the theme of grieving becomes more powerful than anything else. Egoyan establishes the fact that were at a strip club, but he doesn't beat us over the head with gratuitous nudity. There is a melancholy atmosphere achieved through moody cinematography, helped by the use of the Leonard Cohen song "Everybody Knows,", which fit perfectly.
I didn't quite connect with it on the same level as others did, however. The main issue for me was in the father (Bruce Greenwood) becoming mesmerized by a stripper with a "schoolgirl" routine (Mia Kirshner) after his daughter had died. There is a reason for it that we eventually see, but it didn't ring true, and aside from that, ew. I just couldn't imagine a distraught father turning to this as his outlet, and in any event, connecting this kind of grief with that kind of eroticism seemed odd/disturbing to me.
More realistic was the relationship the man has with his niece (15 year old Sarah Polley), and how the reality behind that was slowly filled in was brilliant. The way the pet shop owner/smuggler (Don McKellar) was eventually connected was also very well done, and there are some interesting parallels in what that character gets up to (e.g. Secret desires, the ballet instead of the strip club). All in all this is one where I liked the artistry in the weaving process more than the completed whole. Worth checking out though.
I didn't quite connect with it on the same level as others did, however. The main issue for me was in the father (Bruce Greenwood) becoming mesmerized by a stripper with a "schoolgirl" routine (Mia Kirshner) after his daughter had died. There is a reason for it that we eventually see, but it didn't ring true, and aside from that, ew. I just couldn't imagine a distraught father turning to this as his outlet, and in any event, connecting this kind of grief with that kind of eroticism seemed odd/disturbing to me.
More realistic was the relationship the man has with his niece (15 year old Sarah Polley), and how the reality behind that was slowly filled in was brilliant. The way the pet shop owner/smuggler (Don McKellar) was eventually connected was also very well done, and there are some interesting parallels in what that character gets up to (e.g. Secret desires, the ballet instead of the strip club). All in all this is one where I liked the artistry in the weaving process more than the completed whole. Worth checking out though.
The essentials of a masterpiece
jexline14 October 2009
Atom Egoyan's "Exotica" is perhaps the most perfect and beautifully intricate film I have seen. Filmed on a $2 million Canadian budget with his mostly usual staple of actors it explores territory usually left unchartered in the film world.
Francis Brown (Bruce Greenwood) is a tax auditor for Revenue Canada who makes nightly visits to Exotica, a local gentleman's club, where he also asks for his favorite dancer, Christina (Mia Kirschner). The activity of the club is told to us by Eric, the D.J. (Elias Koteas)who makes suggestive comments about the dancers. The club is owned by the pregnant Zoe (Arsinee Khanjian; Egoyan's wife). The other main character of the story is Thomas Pinto (Don McKellar), a latently gay pet shop owner being audited by Francis.
The film is largely about replacements and rituals. Eric used to be Christina's lover and relives the relationship through MCing suggestive fantasies of her. The club used to be owned by Zoe's mother and she is taking her mother's place since it's easier than creating her own options. Francis has his niece (Sarah Polley) babysit while he's gone, even though there's no baby to sit and pays her $20 a night and pays Christina $5 a dance. Thomas goes to the opera on a regular basis and scalps tickets in order to meet up with other men. The film doesn't truly come together until the conclusion where everything makes sense.
This film features some great performances, especially Bruce Greenwood as the troubled and intense Francis. Elias Koteas is equally good as the jealous DJ. This is a sorely underrated film with the essentials of a masterpiece. The score is also excellent and I highly recommend the soundtrack as well.
Overall, one of my all-time favorite films. A must-see.
Francis Brown (Bruce Greenwood) is a tax auditor for Revenue Canada who makes nightly visits to Exotica, a local gentleman's club, where he also asks for his favorite dancer, Christina (Mia Kirschner). The activity of the club is told to us by Eric, the D.J. (Elias Koteas)who makes suggestive comments about the dancers. The club is owned by the pregnant Zoe (Arsinee Khanjian; Egoyan's wife). The other main character of the story is Thomas Pinto (Don McKellar), a latently gay pet shop owner being audited by Francis.
The film is largely about replacements and rituals. Eric used to be Christina's lover and relives the relationship through MCing suggestive fantasies of her. The club used to be owned by Zoe's mother and she is taking her mother's place since it's easier than creating her own options. Francis has his niece (Sarah Polley) babysit while he's gone, even though there's no baby to sit and pays her $20 a night and pays Christina $5 a dance. Thomas goes to the opera on a regular basis and scalps tickets in order to meet up with other men. The film doesn't truly come together until the conclusion where everything makes sense.
This film features some great performances, especially Bruce Greenwood as the troubled and intense Francis. Elias Koteas is equally good as the jealous DJ. This is a sorely underrated film with the essentials of a masterpiece. The score is also excellent and I highly recommend the soundtrack as well.
Overall, one of my all-time favorite films. A must-see.
Great feel, great acting, implausible story
CineCritic251712 January 2007
This darkish art-house movie does deliver on feel and atmosphere. It does so however by the hands of a rather confusing and ultimately disappointing story.
I don't think there was a single actor that didn't perform greatly or at least highly convincing. The scenes of the sex-club (although i can't claim to have ever been in one quite like this one) seem real enough as does the atmosphere which surrounds it.
The total feel and acting makes what may appear to may as boring an absolute sensational experience. But that is also where the list of good points of this movie ends.
As a whole the story of this movie doesn't seem to be well thought through. There are several highly unlikable events during the last 15 minutes of it which ultimately makes for a bit of a disappointing experience altogether. Which is a shame. Although all the pieces seem to be placed together at the end, it doesn't give the movie the climax it is pretending to give throughout the film. This will ultimately give many the 'so what?' experience.
I still rate it a 6 though and that is saying a lot about its good points.
I don't think there was a single actor that didn't perform greatly or at least highly convincing. The scenes of the sex-club (although i can't claim to have ever been in one quite like this one) seem real enough as does the atmosphere which surrounds it.
The total feel and acting makes what may appear to may as boring an absolute sensational experience. But that is also where the list of good points of this movie ends.
As a whole the story of this movie doesn't seem to be well thought through. There are several highly unlikable events during the last 15 minutes of it which ultimately makes for a bit of a disappointing experience altogether. Which is a shame. Although all the pieces seem to be placed together at the end, it doesn't give the movie the climax it is pretending to give throughout the film. This will ultimately give many the 'so what?' experience.
I still rate it a 6 though and that is saying a lot about its good points.
Peculiar & Deceptive...
Xstal19 September 2020
If you played the events out as they actually happened, in sequence, the only surprise you'd experience would be how you'd made it to the end without declining to further engage in this nonsensical and unrealistic fraud about old men and their relationships with children and very young girls. If the art of good film making relies on the editing deceiving and withholding information form you that it later reveals, and that information is, for all intents and purposes, known to the characters as the story progresses - the whole piece wins its plaudits through misleading and not through a genuinely engaging story - which this is not either. Valueless nonsense all round.
Where substance prevails...
elu5iv324 April 2001
I don't have much to add that hasn't already been said. "Exotica" is a great example of a movie that works with a budget limit and comes off better than all of these multi-million dollar Hollywood FX-bonanza's. An intricate and refreshing story where you get to know the characters piece by piece. The movie requires patience in the early stages, but once it clicks, there's no looking back. A masterpiece of a movie.
Complete Obsession
gcd704 July 2008
Warning: Spoilers
"Exotica" deals totally with obsession. Writer/director Atom Egoyan does well to get us hooked on his central characters, without knowing why they are behaving as they do. The plot centres around strip club "Exotica" as Egoyan teases out his tale like a striptease, little by little showing us more of who these people are and why.
The resolution is perhaps disappointing (like a striptease when all has been revealed), failing to fulfill our high hopes. Best character is Francis, who appears to change before our eyes as the film progresses. It is not really he who changes however, but our perception of him. Likewise we view all the players differently in the end, though some of their motivations are hastily explained, if at all.
Fantastic performances wrap up this oft times mesmerising film, with Bruce Greenwood a particular standout as Francis. Mia Kirshner (Christina) and Don McKellar (Thomas) are strong too. Also stars Elias Koteas as Eric and Arsinee Khanjian as Zoe.
The exotic score is from Mychael Danna, and Paul Sarossy's camera captures Linda del Rosario and Richard Paris' production design (eye catching at times) well.
Monday, November 3, 1997 - Hoyts Croydon Cinema
The resolution is perhaps disappointing (like a striptease when all has been revealed), failing to fulfill our high hopes. Best character is Francis, who appears to change before our eyes as the film progresses. It is not really he who changes however, but our perception of him. Likewise we view all the players differently in the end, though some of their motivations are hastily explained, if at all.
Fantastic performances wrap up this oft times mesmerising film, with Bruce Greenwood a particular standout as Francis. Mia Kirshner (Christina) and Don McKellar (Thomas) are strong too. Also stars Elias Koteas as Eric and Arsinee Khanjian as Zoe.
The exotic score is from Mychael Danna, and Paul Sarossy's camera captures Linda del Rosario and Richard Paris' production design (eye catching at times) well.
Monday, November 3, 1997 - Hoyts Croydon Cinema
Exotica: 103 minutes of merciless boredom
Platypuschow20 July 2017
With a cast of familiar faces this thriller/drama goes nowhere fast in fact I'm not sure it goes anywhere at all. Lifeless, dull, ridiculously ungripping and considering half the film is set in a strip joint not even visually appealing! The last time I was this bored watching a film it was the critically acclaimed Inception (2010) the film that bred a new type of pseudo intellectual movie fan with the moniker of "If you don't like it you didn't understand it" Well I understood that over-convoluted mess and I still didn't like it.
Exotica brings nothing to the table, not even a young Mia Kirchner stripping in a school girl outfit could turn this embarrassment around.
Exotica brings nothing to the table, not even a young Mia Kirchner stripping in a school girl outfit could turn this embarrassment around.
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