Rating: 
Summary: Egoyan's finest and most best work of all
Review: this one gripped me from the beginning till the shocking end. Bruce Greenwood goes to a stripclub called Exotica, there he only sees one dancer, who both they know eachother, the stripper played by Mia Kirshner in one of her more better roles also has a connection with the DJ of the club, Elias Koteas who sees Greenwood always around her and becomes jealous. Greenwood also is friends with Don McKellar(whos gay), but that doesnt ruin the fact that this movie is truly a masterpiece. the connections of each is amazing , piled up with the intense ending where Greenwood goes to kill Koteas but then Koteas confronts him head on and how Greenwood knows Kirshner is the big bang. also in the mix is Victor Garber(Alias, Titanic) and Sarah Polley(The Sweet Hereafter). one of 1994's best
Rating:
Summary: Another Egoyan Winner
Review: I like movies that reveal their mysteries gradually. Films like Mullholland Drive, Memento, Following, etc. Like a good postmodern novel (no that's not an oxymoron - there are a few [Paul Auster comes immediately to mind]) these films are non-linear and one is kept guessing about not only what will happen, but whethere central characters are crazy, evil, benign, etc. The audience is kept intentionally in the dark, and thus on edge, and sometimes (as is the case with Mullholland Drive) there is no clear resolution, no tidying things up at the end. Egoyan seems to be operating in similar territory. Another characterstic that these directors share is that often their characters are not what one would call likeable. This is the case in Exotica. A Canadian Customs Inspector (David Hemblen) is assigned to audit the books of a nervous Toronto exotic pet shop owner. From the outset, we see that this is not going to be your typical CPA/customer relationship. Things get more intriguing when the inspector finds a pistol in the pet-shop owner's drawer and reacts enigmatically. As the film progresses, the inspector's psyche gradually disintegrates, until finally there is a denouement of denouements at the end of the film. Finally, Egoyan lets the audience in on the source of the inspector's descent into emotional breakdown. No spoilers here, but suffice it to say that the ending provides resolution, without relying on clichés. Another satisfying Egoyan film. Thoughful script. Uniformly excellent acting, cinematography, direction. Worth re-viewing. BEK
Rating: 
Summary: Not All That
Review: I was disappointed by Exotica. I've only seen a few of Atom's films, but it seems as though he uses the same devices in much of his work (extensive flashbacks only revealed in maddeningly small bits until the end; lighting and film effects; complicated psychological problems of the characters). The story was interesting, albeit confusing at times, but like with Atom's other films, I found myself feeling very detatched and flat by the finale. I had figured out much of the plot by near the end, and instead of feeling like I understood the motivation of any of the characters, I just felt cheated, like I had read a story about interesting people written by someone with very little insight into human behavior. I got the impression that the filmmaker wanted to shock the audience by creating characters with lots of weird hangups but didn't give them the proper emotional life to explain why they did what they did. Anyhow, the film is worth a view, but I personally don't think it's as good as many others do.
Rating:
Summary: Good movie, bad distribution
Review: A psychologist once said that deep grief can feel very much like going insane. That phrase kept coming to mind for me as I watched this movie. It's probably the single finest study of the effects of guilt and grief on a group of characters that I have ever seen. Unfortunately, distributors chose to market the movie to Americans as soft-core porn about strippers, with the result that a lot of people rent it and are disappointed to find that it actually requires thought and involvement to understand. In the movie, through the interaction of a group of characters with each other, we learn that they all carry the scars from events leading up to and surrounding the death of a young girl in the past. How all the characters fit together, and what the relationships are between them is a puzzle built throughout the movie, and it doesn't fall completely into place until the very last seen. The movie is a visual masterpiece and a brilliant and feeling character study. If you rent it knowing what it is and what to expect, I think you will find it a work of genius.
Rating: 
Summary: Lame and Boring movie
Review: I recently saw this movie on cable and must say that it was the most boring movie I've ever seen. The characters all act like philosophers by that everything they say is analytical coupled with music. The speed at which they talk is horrendously slow. About 60 percent of the movie is music and facial expressions and 40 percent is dialogue. It has the feel of Lolita but don't confuse it with that fine film. The stripper in this movie is decent but not that great. She doesn't say much but then again that can be said of all characters. .....
Rating:
Summary: Great film!
Review: Seems more exotic than the average vanilla indie film. Sultry and provacative but tastefully done without the formulaic melodrama behind it. It's fresh and earnest showing loss and obsession intertwined in three individual lives. Plus, you can't discount that EXOTICA is an exciting cool club with that mediterannean/Egyptian feel that adds sultriness to the emotional confusion. The music is great as well. I love middle eastern music. Great acting. See it.
Rating:
Summary: A very Modest opinion !
Review: In all honesty I have seen a lot of phycological thrillers. But in my opinion this one is all looks and cinematography. The only thing this movie serves as a mystery with a simple plot. The movie was designed to make you think there is more to it than there really is. The key to the movie is the flash back of Eric and Christina walking in the field.They drag that flash back all the way to the end of the film,and there's you answer! They could have just made a movie out of the flashback because that is the Plot!And trust me people there is no pot of gold at the end of the flash back! The Girl Christina played by Mia Kirshner,was basically an ordinary girl that was made out to be mysterious.There was nothing mind goggling about her personality. Basically there was 3 guys that had very serious mental problems. Seriously disconnected from reality with an obcession for Christina. But not the kind of obcession you would expect. The club was beautiful but a joke, there was no nudity which really makes the movie unreasonable. A strip club with no stripping? Come on people! When this mystery unravels you will be sitting there like "that was it?" The only thing in this movie that resembled sensuality was when Christina was talking to the owner of the club and touching her pregnant belly. The rest is just whatever I guess! The movie is nice to look at but is very drawn out for what the plot was actually conveying. A real artistic, sensual, surprising, puzzling movie to watch would be Mullholland Dr,and Lost Highway. People that think this is the greatest movie since "Slice Bread" obviously haven't seen alot of challenging thrillers. "Palmetto" unraveled more mystery than this! But over all it did have a feel of sensuality about it I guess it had alot to do with the lighting and the fact that Mia was beautiful. Own this one for the art and the feel of the film the plot is just basic with a few film trick techniques to throw you off.
Rating:
Summary: A genuis at his prime!!!
Review: Atom Egoyan has outdone himself once again with EXOTICA, his most accomplished work until the recent ARARAT...a strip club provides most of the backdrop for the film, and the one major connection between a group of unique and well-realized characters, all emotionally unstable with a few secrets up their sleeves...ultimately fascinating, and sometimes extremely frustrating, EXOTICA is pure Egoyan and a wonderful piece of cinema...unjustly advertised as something it is definitely not, this is a deep and inspiring work of genius, a film only Egoyan could have made...the final scene alone is really something and packs a punch, ending the film on a perfect note...It is not for all tastes, but EXOTICA is highly recommended to those who can appreciate good filmmaking and movies that actually mean something...an excellent cinematic experience...Highly recommended...
Rating:
Summary: A collectors item
Review: Wonderful movie. Suspensful and delightful. They didn't need to use nudity or extreme violence, because the story was so solid.
Rating:
Summary: Please...about as exotic as a National Geographic magazine
Review: Nothing to get excited about...although the lead actress is attractive and sensual, her time on screen is wasted in an attempt to make this movie an "art house" film, instead of a sexually charged, erotic one. I would have prefered seeing more of her body (in the nude) and some raw sex scenes...as it stands, this was a failure at what it "could have" been.
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