For months we would pass the poster for this movie in the mall cinema and wonder when we would get to see it. It was never released for the big screen in our town. Alan Ball, writer/producer of the multi-Oscar-winning American Beauty (1999) and writer/producer/director of HBO's Six Feet Under and True Blood, finally got to direct this feature from his own script, adapted from the novel of the same name by Alicia Erian. Beware, this is perverted. Jasira Maroun (Summer Bishil, nominated for the Independent Spirit Best Actress award) is a 13 year old, obsessed with sex, who moves from living with her dreadful Anglo mother (Maria Bello) to living with her dreadful Lebanese father (Beirut-born Peter Macdissi, who played Claire's hateful art teacher in Six Feet Under). Jack sometimes likes to quote Bugs Bunny, who said, "What a moroon!" instead of "moron." I said that a lot watching Macdissi's Mr. Maroun. There were many similarities with American Beauty, including Aaron Eckhart's tightly-wound Army reservist reminding me of Chris Cooper in American Beauty. It got mixed reviews. I have linked to three articles (one, two, three) with different points of view, but all contain major spoilers. I happened to like it, cringing or not. It was very well acted and young Ms. Bishil (don't worry, she was over 18 when they made it) convinced me she was a confused tween. Toni Collette's character was also a breath of fresh air. And good music, though not very much, by composer Thomas Newman (I just bought the soundtrack and did the math--just over 14 minutes).
It was originally released under the title Nothing Is Private, but eventually reverted to the book's title, Towelhead, the slur used often in the movie.
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