Netflix This 2 - Exotica

My first "Netflix This" post was about a movie called Double Happiness, which I hadn't seen in some time before I wrote about it. Since I'm only a part time critic/blogger I don't always have time or resources to watch things again. I stand by my recommendation of Double Happiness, but the film is a good bit less carefree than I remembered. The rejection of the main character (Sandra Oh) by her strict Chinese-Canadian father is actually quite painful.

Anyway, all this to say that it has also been some time since I've seen Exotica. My memories of it are clear though, because of the film's unique structure and lacerating sadness. Francis (Bruce Greenwood) pays regular visits to the Exotica strip club where he seems to have an attraction to one particular dancer (Mia Kirshner, pictured here in The L Word and playing the title role in The Black Dahlia). There's also a DJ (Elias Koteas), a club owner (Arsinee Khanjian), and a young girl (Sarah Polley) with strange connections to Francis.



I don't want to say too much about the plot, which is told in a nonlinear fashion. I went from being confused, to unsettled, to a moment of realization, to finally feeling incredible empathy. It may not be apparent from the outset, but Exotica is a film about a destroyed family. It isn't Egoyan's best known film (The Sweet Hereafter) , but I think it may be his best.