Behold: the foremost film ever made by Canada’s Atom Egoyan, an elliptical, provocative and altogether fascinating 1994 drama that follows Egoyan’s own self-created formula. Said formula, which incorporates psychological unrest, dark secrets and unexpected connections, isn’t too easy to pull off, as evidenced by Egoyan’s filmography, which is, alternately, too esoteric (THE ADJUSTER), too bleak (THE SWEET HEREAFTER), too detached (FAMILY VIEWING) and too culturally specific (ADORATION). EXOTICA, which isn’t without flaws, represents the closest Egoyan has come to fully mastering his aesthetic.
…an elliptical, provocative and altogether fascinating 1994 drama that follows Egoyan’s own self-created formula
The film was well received internationally, nabbing several prestigious awards (including the “Best Alternative Adult Film” prize at the 1996 Adult Video News Awards). It suffered, alas, from being released in the US by Harvey Weinstein, who provided a misleading ad campaign that suggested a straight-to-video erotic thriller. EXOTICA nearly went straight to video, a fate from which it was saved by critic J. Hoberman, who posted a rave review in the VILLAGE VOICE.
The title refers to an upscale Toronto strip club (whose no-touching rule is given plenty of symbolic weight by Egoyan) around which several characters orbit. Included is Francis (Bruce Greenwood), a troubled auditor whose daughter was murdered two years earlier, and who attempts to find solace with one of Exotica’s strippers. That stripper is Christina (Mia Kirshner), who shares a history with the club’s enigmatic emcee Eric (Elias Koteas)—as is evident in flashbacks depicting Christina and Eric wandering through a field (the particulars of which are left unexplained until the final ten minutes). Eric doesn’t appreciate the attention Christina lavishes on Francis (who has his own history with her), precipitating an increasingly intense two-man standoff.
Another character, a gay pet shop owner named Thomas (Don McKellar), is embroiled in an illegal egg-smuggling scheme, and another, the teenaged Tracey (Sarah Polley), is employed by Francis to babysit, even though, as she can’t help but notice, “there’s no baby to sit.” There’s also Exotica’s owner Zoe (Egoyan’s wife and frequent cast member Arsinée Khanjian), who has trouble navigating all the psychological unrest in her midst.
The Canadian government dispatches Francis to audit Thomas’ finances, which Francis uses as an excuse to blackmail Thomas into joining his battle with Eric. In other words, Francis assures Thomas he’ll avoid jail time for his egg smuggling if he agrees to lure Eric out of the club so Francis can shoot him.
I mentioned the film has flaws. One of its subplots is left unresolved (the one involving egg smuggling, which had promise), while another (the one about the non-babysitting job) was evidently pared back to the point that very little remains. Another problem is with Egoyan’s dialogue, which tends toward the overly refined and intellectual—as when Christina, in a conversation with Zoe about the latter’s mother, asks “so you feel better about adopting her options rather than creating your own?” (Impressive diction for a young stripper.)
Another problem is with Egoyan’s dialogue, which tends toward the overly refined and intellectual.
“So you feel better about adopting her options rather than creating your own?” (Impressive diction for a young stripper.)
Yet the exotic strip club setting suits Egoyan’s lush, seductive visual style quite well. So too the exotic score by Mychael Danna, which utilizes middle eastern sounding instruments (apparently to remind us of Egoyan’s Armenian heritage) and, despite the fact that the film is set entirely in downtown Toronto with no Middle Eastern characters in sight, the score works.
EXOTICA Soundtrack
The performances are of a much higher caliber than those of Egoyan’s previous films. Mia Kirshner and Bruce Greenwood have never been better than they are in EXOTICA; it marked the first Egoyan collaboration for both, with Kirshner moving onto other directors and Greenwood becoming part of Egoyan’s stock company. Included in that group are Don McKellar, Elias Koteas and Arsinée Khanjian, cast here in her usual Egoyan film role: a self-centered buzzkill.
Another aspect that renders EXOTICA unique in the Egoyan cannon is its character-based (rather than stylistic) orientation. There’s a genuine emotional impact to the final scenes, which don’t entirely tie everything up but do succeed in closing the film out on a satisfying note.
Vital Statistics
EXOTICA
Alliance Entertainment/Ego Film Arts/Miramax
Director: Atom Egoyan
Producers: Atom Egoyan, Camelia Frieberg
Screenplay: Atom Egoyan
Cinematography: Paul Sarossy
Editing: Susan Shipton
Cast: Bruce Greenwood, Mia Kirshner, Don McKellar, Elias Koteas, Arsinée Khanjian, Victor Garber, Sarah Polley, David Hemblen, Calvin Green, Jack Blum, Ken McDougall, Peter Krantz, Billy Merasty, Damon D’Oliveira