Towelhead

Review by Clint Morris

For me, the Alan Ball-penned American Beauty felt a bit like an upper class party you had only just arrived to.

Everything else (at least those that arrived earlier) seemed to be having the time of their lives, clearly understanding the theme of the night - but me - I was a little unsure of the what was happening at the suave event.

And I don't think it would have been improved with an abundance of alcohol either. Good film, sure. Great film, not in my mind.

From my point of view, the problem with American Beauty was that it flipped back and forth between clever satire and gimmicky smut.

It seemed whenever Ball struggled with a scene he just wrote in another topless shot for Mena Suvari's character, or added another unnecessary scene of Kevin Spacey's obsessed elder playing yank-the-crank in the shower.

Alan Ball's latest film, which he directed and wrote this time, suffers from the same problem - it's a good film (and like Beauty features some superb performances and interesting characters) but a lot of it plays out as cinematic perversion.

Mendes could pull Ball back on American Beauty, but on Towelhead, there is nobody there to reign him in when the horndog gets the better of him. As a consequence we are treated to a plethora of untasty sights.

There is an older man's fingers being treated to the crimson sauce as a result of journeying down a teenagers underwear, a young girl orgasming several times throughout the movie over a men's magazine (given to her by the same man), and... well... you would think the film was some sort of Todd Solondz-esque sex-drama by the sounds of all that, right?

Wrong.

It's actually supposed to be (at least I think it is, I don't know whether Ball's too sure himself either) about a young Lebanese girl, somewhat of an outsider, whose overbearing father leads her to find pleasures outside the family home (largely from the army reserver next door, played by Aaron Eckhart, and a young black man).

The tale should be about prejudice, parenting and ignorance - and it does tackle such themes, just meekly - but instead it seems more interested in detailing the young ladies sexual exploits.

It really is pretty perverted.

Having said that, Towelhead is a film I can't find myself to hate. It holds your attention and features some terrific performances (Eckhart reminds us why he is in such high demand these days), to despise.

The beefs don't outweigh the merits either, in fact they are probably on par. It's just a pity that the smuttiness of the script couldn't have been reigned in a tad because there is a great story here trying to get out.

2.5 out of 5

Towelhead
Australian release: 9th October, 2008
Official Site: Towelhead
Cast: Summer Bishil, Chris Messina, Maria Bello, Toni Collette, Aaron Eckhart
Director: Alan Ball