Our take
There are strange coincidences, connections, and chains that link two people within a place, whether they’re aware of it or not. Customers in a strip club may be linked just by the desire they share over a dancer, but in writer-director Atom Egoyan’s Exotica, they’re more so linked by trauma and grief, by trying to carve a piece of the world that they once lost. The way Egoyan unpacks these hidden connections is intriguing, taking the club’s seedy atmosphere to fuel the mood and mystery of each transaction, which, with the surprising innocence of the characters, creates a compelling contrast that we can’t help but watch.
Synopsis
In the upscale Toronto strip club Exotica, dancer Christina is visited nightly by the obsessive Francis, a depressed tax auditor. Her ex-boyfriend, the club's MC, Eric, still jealously pines for her even as he introduces her onstage, but Eric is having his own relationship problems with the club's female owner. Thomas, a mysterious pet-shop owner, is about to become unexpectedly involved in their lives.
Storyline
After having lost everything, depressed tax auditor Francis visits the strip club Exotica to find solace in watching popular dancer Christina, much to the chagrin of the club’s MC, her ex-boyfriend Eric.
TLDR
If you’re not playing Leonard Cohen while your characters are feeling so alienated, are they really feeling out of place in this world?
What stands out
The way each scene is structured is incredible! Also the Leonard Cohen tracks really set a mood.