Exotica

A heartbreaking film about the fantasies men construct to keep on living after experiencing a profound loss. Both the MC character, Eric, and Francis, an auditor, have lost a woman in their lives and project their fantasy of protecting and preserving her onto the exotic dancer Christina. Interestingly, this arrangement also serves Christina who "gets something out of it" herself: the fantasy of being protected in a cruel world where safety and comfort are not guaranteed. The focus on money changing hands, the reoccurrence of 2 way mirrors, and sexual nature of Christina's job complicate the analgesic objectives of Eric and Francis. The tone is funereal a la The 25th Hour and the score one of the best I've heard this year. Both add to the incongruous feelings of melancholy and eroticism that run through the film and culminate in a particularly haunting final shot.