Towelhead (DVD)
Directed by: Alan Ball
Written by: Alan Ball (screenplay), Alicia Erian (novel)
Starring: Summer Bishil, Peter Macdissi, Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Toni Collette

If you’re a relatively adventurous moviegoer, every now and then you will come across a movie that makes you a bit uncomfortable — whether it be the words and actions of a character, or the graphic nature of something shown on screen that manages to shock you. Everyone has their own limits, but when a movie makes you feel awkward and/or outraged for an extended period of time, you start to wonder why you are even watching it. If entertainment is your number one priority, then a movie that abuses its audience is at worst, offensive, and at best, a waste of time.

Alan Ball’s Towelhead, then, is a movie that runs the risk of offending a lot of people and/or wasting their time. This controversial film, based on the novel by Alicia Erian, not only takes a racial slur as its title, but also explores the sexuality of a thirteen-year-old Arab-American girl in addition to the intolerance she suffers from the kids at school, her next door neighbours, and her own parents. Make no mistake, this is uncomfortable viewing, a film that will cause you to glance over your shoulder and shrink down in your seat nervously while your stomach continues to tie itself in knots. In the end, the story is a powerful one, but the important question is, does it actually have value or is it simply pushing the envelope needlessly?

Towelhead is a movie I had heard a lot of negative things about, but being a fan of both Six Feet Under and American Beauty, I was curious to see how Ball would handle his feature film directorial debut. Initially released under the somewhat non-descript title “Nothing is Private”, the actual title of this movie might lead you to believe that blatant racism is the main reason for its provocative nature. The truth is, the racial issues are not nearly as shocking as the sexual situations that viewers are forced to endure. Basically, imagine the incredibly icky sex scene between Kevin Spacey and Mena Suvari in American Beauty, and then stretch that out over an entire film. This makes the filmography of Todd Solondz look like a Disney made-for-TV movie.

When thirteen-year-old Jasira (Summer Bashil) violates her mother’s trust, she is sent to live with her Lebanese father (Peter Macdissi) in suburban Houston, Texas. She is immediately stifled by his strict rules and expectations. Lonely and insecure, she looks for acceptance anywhere that she can find it — even in the attention of their Army reservist neighbour (Aaron Eckhart). She also starts dating a boy at school (Eugene Jones), but must hide it from her father because he is black. Eventually all of these secrets build to a major confrontation that puts everyone’s personal flaws and prejudices to the test.

I can certainly see why Alan Ball was drawn to this material, as it resembles American Beauty and Six Feet Under in both content and style. He likes to explore the darker side of human nature while interweaving bits of satire and comedy, but he also aims big and doesn’t shy away from hot button issues. I can also see why this movie rubs a lot of people the wrong way. It does help if you go in knowing that the movie has some difficult material, and also if you keep in mind that the novel was written by an Arab-American woman. The tension and the raw emotion that the movie stirs up inside of you are not easily forgotten, but if you can get past this, I think it accomplishes Alan Ball’s goal of opening a dialogue to some extremely important topics.

The acting is solid, which is essential to keeping the film’s integrity intact. Despite the fact that many of the characters are despicable in various ways, performances from people like Aaron Eckhart and Peter Macdissi remain somewhat likable and complex. While this might turn some people off, at least it doesn’t give an easy scapegoat to take the blame. Peter Macdissi’s character in particular is quite funny at times, particularly with his own relationship worries and hypocritical stances on the Gulf War. (I only wish there was more comedy to lighten the mood from time to time.) Then there is young Summer Bashil, who admirably pulls off a difficult role like this despite having minimal experience (mostly in Disney Channel productions, actually).

One of the problems with this movie is that all of the characters are pretty extreme, and there is no voice of reason to latch onto. When Toni Collette and her husband enter the picture later on, they do finally provide a safe haven for Jasira (as well as the audience), but even they aren’t perfect. The movie could be seen as fetishizing underage Middle Eastern girls, making Middle Eastern fathers seem abusive and closed off, and portraying Southern rednecks as perverts. With some of these stereotypes being thrown around, it is up to the audience to realize that the characters are exaggerated on purpose. Race issues aside, I found the strongest theme of the movie was actually Jasira’s search for acceptance through her sexuality and how the media shaped her perception of that.

Regardless of how you react to Towelhead, it is definitely a brave undertaking, and one that forces you to look inward and question your own biases. I can’t really say it was an entirely pleasant experience, but sometimes we all need to be shocked out of our reality just a little bit.

The DVD also includes two panel discussions between Alan Ball, the cast members, and Alicia Erian, which should help to reassure those who might question the intentions behind the film. — Sean

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Recommended If You Like: Welcome to the Dollhouse, American Beauty, Kids