Word: exotica
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Nothing is quite what it appears to be in "Exotica," Atom Egoyan's latest film. This might be a result of the Canadian director's interest in investigating subjects Hollywood usually forgets about: deep feelings and authentic people which do not fit into neat formulas or fulfill obvious expectations...
...simpler than its flashbacks and interrupted narrative make it out to be. Just a bit. Thomas (Don McKellar) is a gay petstore owner who makes ends meet by smuggling exotic pets into Canada for private collectors. Francis (Bruce Greenwood) is a smug tax auditor by day, a patron of Exotica, a table dancing club, by night...
When Francis discovers Thomas' illegal operation, he offers to let him off the hook in return for a small favor: going to Exotica to talk to his favorite dancer, Christina (Mia Kirshner). She is the light to which all characters are attracted, including the club's owner Zoe (a very pregnant Arsinee Khanjian) and her ex-lover Eric (Elias Koteas), the club's deejay...
This results in interesting characters, not mere cardboard facades. "Exotica" works in large part due to the intense and talented cast, who understand the depths and complexities of human emotions and are able to convey them with amazing subtlety...
Indeed, Egoyan (who wrote, co-produced, and directed the film) confirms the theory that like attracts like by surrounding himself with talent. The beautiful set of the Exotica club places film-goers in the center of the action while providing the comforting emotional barrier of one-way mirrors. The club looks so authentic that during the filming of the film, passers-by had to be turned away from the door and informed that it was not a strip club...