Towelhead
By Marshall Fine
Rating:
Who's in it: Aaron Eckhart, Toni Collette, Maria Bello
What's it about: A 13-year-old Arab-American girl discovers her own sexuality while living with her strict divorced father during the first Gulf War.
Squirm: Jasira (Summer Bishil) has unfamiliar longings - and they're stoked by her hot new neighbor (Eckhart), as well as his collection of Playboy magazines. But she's playing with fire in this uncomfortable comedy from writer-director Alan Ball ("Six Feet Under"). He makes this blossoming adolescent into figure of desire in inappropriate ways that she encourages. It raises questions and feelings that could give you the willies. No, it's not kiddie porn - but it puts a focus on a young teen's sexuality that pushes a lot of buttons. Eckhart does a good job capturing the conflicting urges, while Peter Macdissi (who played the reptile-like art teacher Olivier in "Six Feet Under") brings a brutal closed-mindedness to the role of the immigrant father, so eager to fit in even as he clings to fundamentalist religious beliefs. Bishil is a young beauty (she's actually 20) who plays this role so realistically that she'll have you wriggling in your seat.
Long story short: This one will push you out of your comfort zone.
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