Review of Exotica (1994) by Nick O — 17 Sep 2013
Innocence is lost in "Exotica", the same way the high-art strip club it's named after keeps its eyes wide shut in pretending it's a galleria that sells amusement and not sex. You never know who's watching.
Atom Egoyan's 1994 film has the slow-baked camerawork and dovetail storytelling to imitate the likes of Tarantino, Solondz or P.T. Anderson, except it foreshadows the major watermarks of all those filmmakers.
"Exotica" should be respected for its originality. It works operating on the level of seedy mystery, strange and intoxicating images that suck you in with their weirdness. I'd say the distractedly late-'80s, early-'90s character style of the thing dates it some, but really its off-color look only adds to the mosaic nature of Egoyan's kaleidoscopic wet dream.
"Exotica" is exotic, no doubt about it, and it's also exciting. A mystical masterpiece, it damn near knocked me out. As it should.
This review of Exotica (1994) was written by Nick O on 17 Sep 2013.
Exotica has generally received positive reviews.
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