Exposed

Author(s): Tony
Location: Pittsburgh

"Exposed"

Directed by Phil Morrison
Written by Richard Curtis
Produced by Albert Berger

Main Cast

Jacinda Barrett as Dana Black
Dennis Hopper as Lou Black
Miranda Richardson as Valerie Black
Embeth Davidtz as Paradise
Matt O'Leary as Dwayne Black
Shohreh Aghdashloo as Nurse Mona
Josh Peck as Damien
JR Bourne as Ron Chee
Emma Stone as Dana Black (Age 18)
Devon Murray as Jason

Tagline: "She's the star in the family"

Synopsis: At age 18 Dana Blacks worst experience of her life became a defining moment. She was very outgoing and experimental. It was a late night in the small town of Bloxom, Virgina when Dana and her boyfriend Jason decided to have a bit of friendly play with an addition, a video camera. Days later the film was broadcast on a second rate porn site as a joke by Jason, and while Dana was humiliated she had received a phone call from a big time adult entertainment producer, Ron Chee. She was invited to go out to San Fernando Valley, outside of LA for a career that was promised to be a one and a lifetime offer, a porn star. Her parents, Lou and Valerie, made it clear that if she took on such a task they would disown her for good. Her parents were already harsh on her due to her lifestyle so she said her goodbyes.

Years later Dana is the most famous porn stars in the country. She makes a good living until an anonymous phone call becomes a major set back. It was her mother informing Dana of her fathers pancreatic cancer. Now, she must fly back to her hometown of Bluxom to spend time with her father for his remaining days. Traveling with Dana is her companion and best friend Paradise, an exquisite and colorful charm, also lesbian. In her home consists of her loud, old fashioned, racist, yet comical father who refuses to get hospital treatment, the nurse that takes care of him, her 17 year old brother whom she's never met, Dwayne, and her quiet but torn inside mother. Throughout Dwaynes entire school life he's been ridiculed and teased especially from his best friend Damien who has all of Danas work from Limewire. Dwayne feels his teen years have been ruined considering he's tried to stay away from porn as much as possible due to the risk of seeing his sister. Throughout the stay there are bondings and arguments between Dana and her parents, Lou's disliking towards his nurse, even constant calls from Ron who pleads for Dana to return. Dwayne gives Paradise a tour of the town which also creates a strange trust between the two. Paradise listens to Dwaynes struggles with his sisters profession and makes him understand her situation. Meanwhile, Valerie has openly admitted that the family kept Lou's cancer a secret from Dana for the last 4 years which causes Dana to hate herself for her actions, but it's the mother/daughter connection that helps the two get through their personal troubles. Everything was clicking until a sudden death brought the family back to reality, the death of Valerie. Her suicide note included that she felt she lost control over everything, her husbands sickness, her daughters profession, it was all too much. Dana knows that times are down and are about to get worse, but this experience alone will make up for the missed years.

What the Press would say:

"Exposed" is the latest tragicomedy from director of "Junebug", Phil Morrison. This film has everything we look for in a small time production project with great actors and a real to life script. First and foremost to get the full effect of this story you have to picture yourself in the situation, how would you feel if someone you knew, family or friend, was a porn star? Because in reality these people do exist and this film focuses on the way they handle their situations, with the help of the writer "Love Actually", Richard Curtis, this is Morrisons bread and butter. Another brilliant insight on this film is there is no nudity, not one ounce. Morrison doesn't need sex appeal or excessive nudity scenes, the profession and point comes off strong enough due to the spot on dialogue and conflicts with each character. Morrison also puts together another great ensemble of ordinary yet fresh characters. Jacinda Barrett shines as the leading actress playing Dana Black. The people of the town look up to her as a celebrity while her family has been tormented by it for years. As complex as this role, Barrett is in complete control. You can feel her mutual feeling towards her parents through her expressions and dialect, the kind of woman that just screams for her loved ones to want to understand her. While very gritty at times is Barrett, she pulls off the sweet and loving transition through the film as good as anyone we've seen. Next is her blue collar family. Her father is played by long time vet Dennis Hopper. Several people can relate to Hoppers character, the old time relative that was raised in a different time frame hence making them quite impartial towards people of color. Hopper not only makes us crack with his cunning and satirical humor but love and emotion as well. His sickness doesn't bother him as much as his neglection towards his one and only daughter. Miranda Richardson plays the devoted house wife and discouraged mother. You can tell her soul belongs to Lou and her undeniable shame towards Dana. 2 of the most powerful and emotional scenes involve Miranda, one of them being the only time where her and Dana seem to forgive each other and share that mother/daughter moment and everything seems alright for once. The other scene being when Dana finds the body of her helpless mother. A scene that will be defining in Barretts career which in time is paved by Mirandas performance. And finally we have Embeth Davidtz, the only actress Morrison brought back from Junebug. Davidtz is the long time companion of Dana, she's comical, lights up the room, and makes everyone feel good around her. Being in a secluded town does make her feel like the elephant in the room but her natural kindness is the key to her performance. Her scenes with Dwayne are top notch with terrific comedy delivery and open hearted.

Overall this film should open some eyes in the film community. A true to life story of family struggles and relationships with heartbreaking yet touching conclusions, not by the book. For a small film there are heavy themes surrounding it. "Exposed" is staunchly resistant to sentimentality or to giving us an unqualified happy ending. We're led to believe Lou will pass so we prepare ourselves throughout the entire film, but Curtis throws the curve ball and gives us a more sombre death that we didn't prepare for, making it harder on ourselves. Family dysfunction at its cleverest, a new and original look on an outsiders tale and how it affected the people around her, and herself.

FYC:

Best Picture - Richard Curtis, Albert Berger
Best Director - Phil Morrison
Best Actress - Jacinda Barrett
Best Supporting Actor - Dennis Hopper
Best Supporting Actress - Miranda Richardson
Best Supporting Actress - Embeth Davidtz
Best Original Screenplay - Richard Curtis