As a director [Ball] amplifies the flaws in his own writing; his supporting characters are too broadly pitched to take seriously, and he tends to smack you in the face with the point of every scene.
Comment
12/17/08
Towelhead (2008)
48
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:31
Fresh:15
Rotten:16
Average Rating:5/10
Consensus: This story of politics, race and, sexual awakening has moments that pack a punch, but overall, Towelhead never quite achieves the nuance of helmer Alan Ball's television work.
Theatrical Release:Sep 12, 2008 Limited
Box Office: $277,354
Synopsis: Alan Ball, who won an Oscar for his AMERICAN BEAUTY screenplay and an Emmy for the hit cable series SIX FEET UNDER, which he created, makes his feature-film directorial debut with the controversial... [More]
Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Toni Collette, Maria Bello, Peter Macdissi
Director: Alan Ball
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Reviews for Towelhead
Top CriticThere is hardly a scene that does not produce exquisite discomfort and a strong desire to be somewhere else.
12/11/08
Top CriticIt wasn’t enjoyable at any level.
11/05/08
Top CriticThis movie will challenge you on a number of levels, including some beliefs you’d never thought you’d question.
11/05/08
Top CriticIt is certainly possible to make a transgressive movie about children in sexual jeopardy, and to do so in ways that realistically and intelligently depict the abuse while not revelling in it.
10/24/08
Top CriticIt’s impossible to look away.
10/18/08
Top CriticSummer Bishil turns in a gutsy, quietly riveting performance as Jasira.
10/18/08
Top CriticThe performances make the material more human and accessible, mainly from the film's brave young star, Summer Bishil.
09/26/08
Top CriticIt's too much, too heavy-handed. Disturbing is one thing. Prurient is another.
09/25/08
Top CriticIt is so disturbing it makes you uncomfortable watching it. For the price of admission, you become an unwilling voyeur.
09/19/08
Top CriticGripping, disturbing, powerful and likely outright offensive to many people, Towelhead is an often brutal study of clashing cultures, adolescent abandonment and sexual confusion.
09/19/08
Top Critic[Director] Ball's trying to be honest about adolescent coming of age, but since he's dishonest about everything else, the movie collapses in on itself, ending with a laughably pat resolution that renders Towelhead a Bizarro World After School Special.
09/19/08
Top CriticFor a film that presents itself as a broadside against prejudice, Towelhead spends an awful lot of time flattering the prejudices of its audience.
09/19/08
Top CriticI understand what the film is trying to do, but not why it does it with such crude melodrama.
09/19/08
Top CriticIt's clever and original with an excellent cast. Ball's script catches a lot of the novel's pop, often word for word.
09/18/08
Top CriticNot since Splendor in the Grass has there been such a candid and sympathetic account of the mixed messages, double-standards, giddy highs and hormonal free falls experienced by teenage girls.
09/18/08
Top CriticTowelhead tries hard to be incendiary and gutsy, and it sometimes succeeds. But to what gain?
09/12/08
Top CriticThis third-act redemption raises Towelhead several notches, but it still ends up feeling like a well-acted and well-intentioned after-school special, a long way from the vividness and texture of Ball's television work.
09/12/08
Top CriticTowelhead is definitely not for all tastes, but it shows a bravery that's increasingly rare in American movies.
09/12/08
Top CriticAs a first-time feature director, [Ball] seldom lets the material speak for itself.
09/12/08
Top CriticLatest News for Towelhead
January 03, 2009:
In a movie that was once more aptly titled, Nothing Is Private, Towelhead kicks open the suburban bedroom door and exposes often silent personal terrors that are both rudely shocking and uncomfortably familiar. 
More...
December 29, 2008:
RT on DVD: A Matthew McConaughey Stinker or Event Horizon on Blu-ray?
It's officially the last DVD release week of the year, although much like the box office, most big-ticket new releases debuted last week in time for Christmas. Nevertheless,... More...
December 28, 2008:
In a movie that was once more aptly titled, Nothing Is Private, Towelhead kicks open the suburban bedroom door and exposes often silent personal terrors that are both rudely shocking and uncomfortably familiar.
More...
September 12, 2008:
Aaron Eckhart Talks Towelhead, Life After TDK
He's been around for awhile, but he's never starred in something as huge as "The Dark Knight" -- so what's it like being Aaron Eckhart right now? The Deadbolt's Jordan Riefe... More...
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