Towelhead (film)
| Towelhead | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Directed by | Alan Ball |
| Written by | Novel Alicia Erian Screenplay Alan Ball |
| Produced by | Alan Ball Ted Hope Steven M. Rales |
| Starring | Summer Bishil Aaron Eckhart Peter Macdissi Toni Collette Maria Bello Matt Letscher |
| Music by | Thomas Newman |
| Distributed by | Warner Independent |
Release dates | Toronto Film Festival September 8, 2007 United States September 26, 2008 |
Running time | 124 minutes |
| Country | Template:FilmUS |
| Language | English |
Towelhead is a Template:Fy film written and directed by Alan Ball and based on Alicia Erian's novel of the same name. The film made its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival on September 8, 2007 under the name Nothing is Private.
Plot
Set during the First Gulf War, Towelhead tells the coming-of-age story of a 13-year-old Lebanese American girl named Jasira (Summer Bishil). She first lives with her mother in Syracuse, New York, but when her mother's live-in boyfriend helps Jasira shave her pubic hair, the mother is concerned and sends Jasira to live with her old-fashioned and domineering Lebanese-Christian father Rifat (Peter Macdissi) in Houston, Texas. Jasira begins to have sexual feelings; she likes the adult magazines she finds when baby-sitting the next-door neighbor boy Zach Vuoso (Chase Ellison). She has mixed feelings about Zach's father Mr. Vuoso (Aaron Eckhart) who puts his finger in her vagina against her will; he apologizes for breaking her hymen, he did not think she was still a virgin. She prefers black classmate Thomas Bradley (Eugene Jones III) who is also sexually interested in her, but does not act without permission. Nevertheless she accepts when Mr. Vuoso, pretending he has to go to Iraq the next morning, requests to have more sex with her.
Jasira is alienated from her father: he is strict and does not allow her to use tampons; also he prefers spending time with his new girlfriend rather than with her. When her father beats Jasira after finding out that she had an adult magazine, a female neighbor Melina (Toni Collette) offers Jasira her house as a refuge. Melina gives Jasira a sex education book, from which she learns that Mr. Vuoso's behavior was illegal. Eventually she tells her father and the neighbors about having sex with Mr. Vuoso, and he is arrested for statutory rape. The film also deals with the racial attitudes of the people in Jasira's life: towards her and her father (she is called towelhead, although she does not even wear anything on her head), but also those of her father towards blacks.
Cast
- Summer Bishil as Jasira
- Aaron Eckhart as Mr. Vuoso
- Peter Macdissi as Rifat
- Toni Collette as Melina
- Maria Bello as Gail
- Eugene Jones III as Thomas Bradley
- Matt Letscher as Gil
- Chase Ellison as Zack
- Lynn Collins as Thena
Summer Bishil, playing 13-year-old Jasira, was 18 years old during filming.
Controversy
Several Middle-Eastern anti-defamation groups disagreed with the choice of the film's title. These groups believed the derogatory term used for the film's title is misleading since the main focus of the film is of sexual nature rather than about racism, and was chosen solely to generate "buzz" for the film. These topics are covered in some round-table talks which are included as extras on the DVD.
Critical reception
Towelhead received mixed reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reports that 48% of critics have given the film a positive review, based on 107 reviews, with an 5.3 out of 10 review average and the consensus that "[t]his story of politics, race and, sexual awakening has moments that pack a punch, but overall, Towelhead never quite achieves the nuance of helmer Alan Ball's television work."[1] The film also holds a score of 57 on the review aggregator website Metacritic.[2]
References
- ^ "Towelhead Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
- ^ "Towelhead (2008): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
External links
- Nothing Is Private at IMDb
- Template:Amg movie
- Towelhead at Rotten Tomatoes
- Towelhead at Metacritic
- Towelhead at Box Office Mojo
- Nothing is Private reviewed at Twitch
- Nothing is Private reviewed at Ain't It Cool News
- Independent UKFilm Review of Towelhead at Sundance
- Clips from the movie
- Alan Ball on Teen Sexuality at Current TV
- Alan Ball on Title Controversy at Current TV