Monday, December 04, 2006
Palette: Blue and Green
This film could easily be more confusing than Atom Egoyan intends it to be. Luckily he worked with a talented crew to find way to unify the themes. One that I’m impressed with is the cinematography of Paul Sarossy and particularly the palettes used. The interior of the Exotica club features pale yellowy greens—including Eric’s work shirt—that are lit with a cool blue light. These colors and tones are closely matched at Thomas’s pet shop thereby linking the two places. The club is named “Exotica” and strippers are sometimes called exotic dancers, but the differences between the two establishments are clear. Thomas might have strange creatures from anywhere in the world in his tanks—we don’t know; we can’t see. But at the club, we see all too much. With the exception of Christina, the other dancers all seem to get naked. Eric’s repeated pitch that for just five dollars one of these women will introduce us into “the mysteries of her world” is not credible. The clients might find the dances to be arousing, but we can see that there is no mystery on offer. And further, even though these naked ladies feature frequently in shots in the club, I don’t think they are presented to the film viewer in a sexually exciting way. The cold colors are one reason why.
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I also was misled by the juxtaposition of Francis experiencing flashbacks that took him from the dark/cold interior of Exotica to this peaceful outdoor setting. I assumed he was reliving a good and wholesome experience rather than a terrible memory.
I wouldn’t call those flashbacks. Those are not, after all, Francis’s experiences since he wasn’t part of the search team. But it is very interesting that these interludes are framed by reflective shots of Francis. What we, the viewers, are learning is something that Francis doesn’t know. It is more like some “negative” flashback along the lines of negative space in a painting. The interlude provides a setting in which to view Francis, but it is not part of his character.
Hmmm. I think I assumed they were Francis' memories even though we didn't see Francis out there searching. Albeit that wouldn't make sense initially because I didn't know what Christina and Eric were out there doing.
A standard knock on Hollywood movies is that they line up all their ducks in a row, and, as if that is not enough, go on to hang a little sign on each one telling you exactly what to think and feel.
I think Egoyan realizes that viewers have been trained this way so he uses that expectation in order to work against it. A Hollywood flashback is always highly explanatory and usually loaded with emotional clues. I don’t think “Exotica” has a single such flashback. Even the final scene where we see the younger Christina and Francis in the car, it is not a flashback in this sense. Egoyan is working our expectations off against what we don’t know. The final encounter between Eric and Francis is surprising in several ways. One of these is that we realize that Francis didn’t know that Eric was the one who found his daughter’s body. There is an asymmetry in what the two know that only hits us—well, me anyway—at that point.
Rick, I meant to say that I also thought the use of "cold" colors stripped (so to speak) the film from a sexual overtone. It reinforced the characters' inability to establish intimacy.
But I noticed the blue/green colors more so than the white/gold you mentioned.
The cold colors are more noticeable. “The inability to establish intimacy” sums up how they are used quite well. There are a few more examples too. For instance, when Francis and Tracey talk in the car, there are not really any greens around, but the light is a cold bluish white. And when Eric is laying on the bed flicking the light on and off right before Christina walks up having found the contract, the room is very stark, white, and the light is cold.
I knew I’d write a post on the cold colors before I rewatched the film because I remember them from before. The warm whites and gold only struck me as a theme on recent viewing and with the other colors already in mind.
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