Cinema Voyage - Michael Pearson

This blog is PRIMARILY about movies. Some dvd and some that are still in the theater. Also, links are provided on some movies if you decide you want to purchase it. Also, I write and read quite a bit. So, you may, from time to time see a book review here from an up-and-coming author or an interview with one. If you have a book that you have written, please don't hesitate to contact me if you want an unbiased opinion. I would be happy to read and review what you've written. We should value our creative people more.

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Cinema Voyage - December 2008

Review - Towelhead (Nothing is Private)

December 31st 2008 10:47

Watching a film blind is sometimes more enjoyable than having seen sneak previews or read information prior to a viewing. Towelhead for me was one such film which if I had've known more about the subject matter, might have kept me away from the screening.

Based on the novel Towelhead by Alicia Erian, Writer/Director Alan Ball takes the film under his wing and creates an impressive feature film debut. Having been responsible for the American Beauty screenplay less than a decade earlier, one can't help compare the storyline of an older man fantasising about sex with an underage girl, but this is where the comparison ends. Towelhead takes us even further into this world and introduces us to 13 year old Jasira (Summer Bishil), a half Lebanese half American girl who lives with her mother Gail played by Mario Bello. Right from the outset we see Jasira being presented with some unwelcome and unsettling attention from an older man and Gail sends Jasira to live with her dad Rifat (Peter Macdissi) in Houston.

Her Lebanese father has strict rules for Jasira which include no makeup, forbidding the use of tampons and not allowing her to date her friend Thomas (Eugene Jones) purely because he is "black". Despite the strict Lebanese views placed upon his daughter, Rifat cavorts quite openly with his own girlfriend showing his double standards and his desire to be American. The film is set against the backdrop of the Gulf War and despite his anti-Saddam stance and his career at NASA, the neighbours still view him with racist contempt.

In spite of these racist attitudes Jasira is surprisingly welcomed into the Vuoso home and is asked to babysit Zack, an annoying and precocious child who shows contempt for Jasira from the outset showering her with phrases such as Towelhead and Camel Jockey. Zack's father, Travis, played by the very likeable Aaron Eckhart, confronts Jasira about the use of violence against her son. Travis is drawn to Jasira and forces himself upon her causing her to lose her virginity sending Jasira on a sexual path headed for disaster.

Melina Hines (Toni Collette), a pregnant and kind neighbour, eyes Travis suspiciously and befriends Jasira offering her a place of solace should she need it. Melina and her husband, Gil, (Matt Letscher) are the catalysts who open Jasira up to the fact that all might not be okay in her world and bring all the elements of racial prejudice, teenage sex, physical abuse, pedophilia and rape out in the open.

Being a teenager in my opinion is hard enough but I couldn't help feel sorry for Jasira trying to come to terms with her sexuality and introduction to adulthood with such manipulative selfish individuals surrounding her. The touching portrayal of Melina and Gil provide a welcome and much needed relief into the gritty world in which Jasira inhabits.

Somehow despite the subject matter, Alan Ball manages to create a very watchable film balancing many humourous and touching moments with numerous seat squirming moments.

Voyage Review: 3.5/5