Exotica

"In a world of temptation, obsession is the deadliest desire."

1994 1h 43m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 406

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“In a world of temptation, obsession is the deadliest desire.”

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Cast

Bruce Greenwood
Francis
Mia Kirshner
Christina
Don McKellar
Thomas
Sarah Polley
Tracey
Victor Garber
Harold
David Hemblen
Inspector
Peter Krantz
Man in Taxi
Arsinée Khanjian
Zoe

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Atom Egoyan
Writers: Atom Egoyan
Languages: Hebrew, English
Countries: Canada

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

32 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Hebrew, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Atom Egoyan, shot by Paul Sarossy. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Mychael Danna. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Susan Shipton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Bruce Greenwood and Mia Kirshner and Don McKellar carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "In a world of temptation, obsession is the deadliest desire.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Atom Egoyan directs. Paul Sarossy behind the camera. Mychael Danna scores. Susan Shipton cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Canada. Dialogue in Hebrew, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
232 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Hebrew, English.
4Directed by Atom Egoyan, shot by Paul Sarossy. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Mychael Danna. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Susan Shipton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Bruce Greenwood and Mia Kirshner and Don McKellar carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "In a world of temptation, obsession is the deadliest desire.".
9IMDB entry: tt0109759 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 9 themes, including "eroticism", "striptease", "nightclub", "pet shop".

The technical file

Cinematography: Paul Sarossy
Original score: Mychael Danna
Editing: Susan Shipton
Production design: Linda Del Rosario
Makeup / hair: Nicole Demers
Sound: Steve Munro
Stunt coordinator: Ted Hanlan
Runtime: 103 min · 1h 43m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $2,000,000
Box office: $4,221,036
Return: 211% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Exotica (1994)

Awards

Toronto International Film Festival Award for Best Canadian Film
Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television Award for Best Motion Picture

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Atom Egoyan

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Community reviews

What people are saying

badelf2023-08-01
★ 10/10
The best psychological drama I've seen in a long time. I can't even remember anything that comes close.
Filipe Manuel Neto2023-11-19
★ 3/10
Something abstract and disconnected, not worth seeing more than once in our life. This is one of those films that puts such a huge barrier between the audience and the screen that it seems like we're not even being taken into consideration by the producers. Despite the attempts, there is not a single sympathetic or palatable character, the script does not help and the feeling that hangs in the air is of a lack of connection and solidity in the final product that can only be explained if we think about the way the director wanted to be. abstract by force. Everything takes place around a chic striptease club, Exotica, in Toronto. There is a dancer who enchants not only a client who goes to see her every day, but also the presenter, who is her ex-boyfriend and one of the most possessive and unhappy people we can imagine. Add to this an animal trafficker with problems admitting homosexuality who is forced to participate in a revenge plan, and we have a film that we probably won't want to see more than once. Atom Egoyan gives us firm direction, but a much less secure and solid script. I like the way it addresses loss, trauma, the feeling of denial of reality and grief. However, to believe that a woman would set up an elegant strip club and her daughter would have the courage to take over the “family business” is to completely ignore the realities of these commercial establishments, where legality and illegality sometimes go hand in hand. A real luxury house would never hold private sessions on tables in the main room for a low price, but in separate rooms for a much higher price, and real strippers don't usually dance to the same music and use the same stage number constantly. There are also huge holes that the script never explains and that are left hanging. For example, why did Christina decide to become a stripper if it is clear, from the characters' words, that that is not the place she deserved to be. Bruce Greenwood is the actor who deserves the most praise for his work here. He is the only one trying to break the ice and reach out to the public in some way, and that deserves an applause from us. Elias Koteas is not that good, but he also does work that can be considered positive. Mia Kirshner, on the other hand, seems to be disinterested and just trying to make some money without much effort. Don McKellar is no better, and Arsinée Khanjian has an absolutely ill-conceived and poorly made character. On a technical level, it is an uninteresting film, to say the least. It is within the range of what one would expect to find in a film with aspirations to be commercial, but which seems to be more popular with festivals and film cycles than with the mass public. The positive highlight is the design of the strip club scene, something tropical I would say, and the soundtrack, which includes a good song by Leonard Cohen.