Movies

Don't be fooled by the soft-porn title or the "sexy thriller" style art on the VHS box and DVD cover. This, like Egoyan's follow-up masterpiece "The Sweet Hereafter" is an intricate, elliptical, and tragic look at grief and loss focusing on the people who work at and patronize a Toronto strip club. It's all very literary and symbolic (the exotic creatures of the pet shop being audited by Bruce Greenwood's tax man with a sad secret mirroring the exotic dancers of the club where he finds his solace after hours) and surprisingly emotional (especially at the end). Character development, secrets, and inner truths are revealed slowly and carefully and in non-linear fashion by Egoyan's delicate director's hand. The "exotic" flavored yet haunting musical score is an added bonus. Worth a look if you are in the right mood and know what to expect from Egoyan.

Perhaps Atom Egoyan's most successful film. Egoyan's technique is to fracture a story like a jigsaw puzzle, giving the viewer bits and pieces which only all connect in the final scene. That ripping apart of reality is especially appropriate here, since the movie is about people putting their lives together after terrible trauma. It's also about the danger in leaping to conclusions - the viewer is often tempted to make a judgement about what he or she sees, and that judgement is often both wrong and unfair. If this all sounds like homework, be assured that the movie is also a lot of fun: it's sexy and interesting and inspired.

When you first look at the VHS box for this movie, it looks like a slightly upscale version of Showgirl. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is a sad, painful, mysterious movie that explores human relationships in a very unusual way. Yes, lots of it takes place at a strip club,but it's not very sexy or explicit. You have to pay careful attention to this movie. It bounces around in time, and all the threads of the plot don't come totally together until the very last moment of the movie. But it has a devastating and gripping payoff. ONLY FOR INTELLIGENT MOVIE GOERS. It's a tough movie, kinda slow, but it is unusual, inventive and in my opinion, very satisfying. Also recommend THE SWEET HEREAFTER, directed by Atom Egoyan as well. Same fractured structure and sense of sadness. But beautiful.