ninemsn

For a country in which teen sex is always an extremely contentious issue, “Towelhead” is a bold film unafraid to “go there”, and that’s sure to ruffle plenty of feathers in Australia as well as the United States.

Set during the unfolding of the first Gulf War in 1991, the film follows 13-year-old American girl Jasira (Summer Bishil). Sent by her mother to live with her Lebanese father in Texas, Jasira’s sexual awakening meets her next-door neighbour’s predatory impulses (Aaron Eckhart) with unfortunate consequences. Jasira must also endure racism, from within her family home and outside of it, and manage her difficult relationship with her at-times-abusive father (Peter Macdissi).

As you might have sensed, there’s some pretty heavy topics here, with the film not hesitating to throw several explosive issues into the mix: race, racism, teen sex, masturbation, menstruation and physical and sexual abuse.

Some of this is familiar ground for filmmaker and writer Alan Ball, who is best known as the writer of “American Beauty” and creator of the television series “Six Feet Under”.

In the case of “Towelhead”, based on a novel of the same name by Alicia Erian, the film veers more towards the dark and acerbic “Six Feet Under”, rather than the larger-than-life and theatrical feel of “American Beauty” – although the underbelly of suburban sexual taboos of the latter film is also spotlighted in Ball’s “Towelhead”.

“Towelhead” is confronting; at times uncomfortably realistic. But to describe it just as that is to fail at conveying how much fun this film is, too, mainly thanks to the script’s humour.

The humour is what makes this ride, which could have been too heavy to bear, so fantastically enjoyable, and reclassifies the film as a comedy steeped in drama, rather than a drama with a comedic streak.

Considering the subject matter, it would have been easy for Ball to become moralistic. But the film always stops short of drawing firm conclusions (save, perhaps at the end).

There are no baddies or goodies here, only very, very human characters, including one confused teen at the centre of it all. A teenager that is, as with all teens, moving through a complex time of transition: she is neither experienced, nor totally innocent, and has sexual impulses, but lacks the understanding and maturity to know how best to act on them.

“Towelhead” is compelling to watch, thanks to some superbly drawn characters, each with their own idiosyncrasies, their own charisma and emotional baggage. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s talk of Oscar nominations here.

ninemsn’s MovieFix, October 2008.