CHALLENGING but compelling drama looking at the difficult and painful world of sexual deviancy. This is not as accesible as Atom Egoyan's later box office success, "The Sweet Hereafter", but still a powerful and impressive feature in its own right.

As well as featuring many of the actors that appear later in "The Sweet Hereafter" (including Egoyan's wife Arsinee Khanjian), "Exotica" uses a similar kaleidoscopic narrative, slowly unveiling the hidden depths of his characters. Egoyan dubbed the structure of the film a "strip tease", which is apt since the story revolves around a strip joint.

Bruce Greenwood is thoroughly convincing in the difficult role of Francis, a tax auditor and regular at the strip club who is obsessed with the school girl stripper. The story is unpredictable and unusual, and the denouement breathtaking.