Review of Towelhead (2008) by Sebastian J — 14 Sep 2008

When this film decided to reclaim it's title Towelhead, all hell broke loose. As if it is not hard enough to market a rape and racism coming-of-age quirky drama, they embraced the title of the original novel.

Skeptics speculated that this was an attempt to create a fake controversy. This may or may not be correct. But I do feel that the original title conjures up the true spirit of the piece. In a memorable piece of dialog, this girls father exclaims that "Nothing you have is private!" And if you are a awkward adolescent searching for a way to express your sexuality, you do feel as if every action is taboo.

This is a movie that will make most people uncomfortable. It grapples with a number of hot button topics in a subtle but vulgar manner. I am fairly jaded and I was taken aback by a few of the sex scenes.

But the portrayal of the naive young woman navigating her own way in a hyper-sexualized culture lingers in my mind. Yes, it is disturbing to watch her painful spring awakening. But this motion picture put me in an intense emotional state for the duration of the day.

I would consider this to be a satirical expose on the hypocrisy of suburbia, much like American Beauty. So it puzzles me why TH has generated such negative buzz. Perhaps the subject matter is too much for most folks to handle.

But it would have been a cop-out to cut the sex scenes. I was surprised to discover at the end that this was not based on another memoir. The story felt so personal, I couldn't believe it was fiction.

The ending was a little too pat. But the perverse journey was awesome.