towelhead (titled 'nothing is private' and changed back to 'towelhead' at sundance)directed by alan ball
screenplay by alan ball
novel by alicia erian
actors: toni collette, aaron eckhart, summer bishil (pictured with producer anne carey; photo taken from genart.org), peter macdissi, maria bello
a thirteen year-old lebanese-american girl, jasira (played by summer bishil), struggles with her confusing and scary sexual awakening in the midst of an obsessive crush with an older man and being the daughter of an oppressive father. toni collette and maria bello give good performances, but aaron eckhart was the brave one to take on such a morally-reprehensible and complex character (the object of jasira's crush and ultimately something bad). peter macdissi gave a first rate performance as jasira's father. i recommend this film if you can handle difficult scenes and difficult subject material. although there some very disturbing and uncomfortable scenes in this film and some disjointed moments, there is humor and hope in the end to offset the darkness.
i saw this film in advanced screening hosted by genart where summer bishil and producer anne carey were in attendance to answer q&a. summer bishil was 18 when the movie was filming and is now 20. you would never know it when seeing her in the film. ms. bishil said that there was a closed set and aaron eckhart, the cast and crew were very protective and supportive while filming the difficult scenes. i asked if she had a difficult time after the movie wrapped because i felt uneasy and my heart felt heavy even though the film ends with hope. ms. bishil said that she went through a phase right after and cut her hair real short but over time was okay. i'm blabbling because i really enjoyed the whole experience despite the tough movie.
thanks for your indulgence. the next film review will be much lighter. ciao for now.
