"What
is it about a schoolgirl that gives her her special
charm?" asks Eric, the character Elias plays in Exotica,
a film by Canadian director Atom Egoyan. As Eric, the
DJ in a gentlemen's club called "Exotica", Elias is torn
between Christina, a woman he used to love and the
haunting tragedy that brought them together.
The eerie, sensual feeling of this movie is compounded
with numerous sub-plots and quirky characters including
Frances, a tax accountant and Exotica regular who
desires Christina, for reasons other than the obvious;
Thomas, a gay pet shop owner, who smuggles exotic eggs
by day and picks up dates at the ballet by night; and
Zoe, the owner of Exotica, who has entered into an
unusal contract with Eric. Somehow Christina is the
link to these four characters and the apparent
disjointed plot actually weaves itself into a satisfying
conclusion when the truth is finally revealed.
(It's nice to see Elias with long hair again!)
Home
